Millennium Moon: The Saga
by Sailor Centauri
Summary: New faces, old memories, and a new threat...read on to find out more...
1. Waxing Moon

Disclaimer: Ok I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the things associated with it, they belong to the creator. I do however, own the character Takara 'Kara' Hiroshi and her item the Millennium Crescent. So please don't take them or use them without permission ok.

A special credit: This fic was created and edited from an RPG I did with a friend whose screen name is Emerald's light. Without her I wouldn't have been able to edit this from an RPG to a story, thank you Emerald's Light. Your help in making this fic is greatly appreciated.

(note: all conversations between Yami and Yugi are noted with square and fancy brackets, ones between Ryou and Bakura are noted with inverted brackets and other scenes with two mini lines are thoughts or dreams)

- - - - - - - - - -

As a new day started at Domino High School, a new student was arriving. She was a transfer student from another city and high school quite a way from Domino City, and was a little nervous about starting her new school. Her name was Takara Hiroshi, or Kara for short. She stopped at the school gates, having waited for the other students to go into the school before she followed. There was a slight uncertainty in the way she walked, as if she wasn't sure going to Domino High was a good idea, but taking a deep breath she proceeded into the school and through the many corridors. She finally found the place she wanted to get to and stopped at the door. Peering in she saw her fellow students, pretty much chatting away with each other in seperate areas of the classroom; the teacher wasn't there yet, obviously.

"Better get this over with," she said to herself as she reached for the door pull. Moments later she was startled as the teacher arrived. He looked down at her quietly, as she stared back. He was a man in his early thirties with short cropped brown hair and dark brown eyes, and he appeared friendly enough for although she knew looks could be deceptive sometimes.

"You must be the new student," he announced after giving her a look over. "Ok then follow me, and don't be disturbed by the noise. It's always like this first thing in the morning."

"Yes sir," Takara nodded as she followed him into the room, and as he'd said she was greeted by a wall of noise upon entering it.

Takara walked into the room behind the teacher, her book bag hanging casually over her shoulder. Her uniform was a little new to her, but she figured she'd best get used to that to.

"Class settle down!" Mr. Hanusume instructed loudly. On hearing his voice the whole class quickly neatened up their seats and sat down at their desks, with all their eyes glued to the front of the room.

"Ok now before we begin today's class," he told them. "I'd like to introduce you to a new student in class today. This is Miss. Hiroshi, Takara. Please, say hello and tell us a bit about yourself Miss. Hiroshi." Takara stepped forwards and her usualy bright and casual smile crossed her face. The whole class couldn't help but look her over; Takara was about 5ft 4" in height, she had shoulder length crimson red hair with golden highlights in it tied in a half ponytail and emerald green eyes.

"Hi, my name's Hiroshi, Takara," she started. "But I prefer being called Kara for short. I play piano and I like duel monsters."

"Thank you Miss. Hiroshi," the teached announced. "You may now take your seat. Just over there two seats in front of Mr. Bakura." He indicated to the white haired teen as he said so, and with a nod Kara walked over and sat down at her desk.

Ryou smiled to her as Kara headed for her seat. Being an exchange student himself, he knew how she must feel. He'd come to Domino from england when his father began to worry about the strange disapearances that seemed to surround his son. At that time Ryou didn't know that the disappearances were actually caused by a dark spirit that inhabited a golden ring his father had given him when he was younger. Thankfully, however, since he'd come to Domino and met Yugi and his friends, his dark spirit hadn't gotten the chance to cause any more 'disappearances' since Yugi also had a dark spirit who fought his own to stop him from harming anyone. Ryou sighed slightly, pulling himself out of his thoughts, as he took out his books for class and whispered to Kara,

"Do you have your books yet?" Kara turned in her chair and nodded to him, whilst holding up her book.

"Yes, picked them up the other day. My parents are pains for making sure i'm equipped for school," she whispered back, and giggled. Kara couldn't help but think that Ryou was actually rather cute, for such a quiet type. She gave him a quick smile and turned back to facing the front of the room, placing her book in front of her.

"Ok class, i'll do a quick review for Miss. Hiroshi," the teacher announced. "Then we'll get on with chapter 4." So he began to talk, as Kara quickly noted down her work, but she couldn't help but wander about a few things. As she'd entered the class, she'd noticed Ryou and a small tri-haired teen were wearing strange looking Egyptian like objects, that reminded her of something her mother had been talking about. Feeling a little bit light-headed all of a sudden, she hurriedly shook the feeling off, and carried on writing notes.

Ryou listened quietly as the teacher spoke and read over his class notes making sure they were thurough enough. He enjoyed school very much, mainly as it took his mind off of other things. These other things being the nagging voice inside his head that kept muttering that school was useless and the only real knowledge one needed could be easily gained through experience, not listening to some pathetic mortal talk endlessly about consepts that he would really never need to know. Since he'd found out about his dark half the Yami had stopped hidding himself from his host. Ryou was really beginning to wish he hadn't found out. At least when he didn't know he didn't have to worry about what he might do and who he might hurt. Kara didn't like the feeling she was getting being near Ryou and the other teen, who she learned was actually called Yugi. It helped since the blonde boy next to him kept whispering things to him. Her head was becoming a little sore, and her mind was sending her completely into another world. She was beginning to think she should asked Mr. Hanusume if she could move further away from them, to avoid the slowly forming headache.

"Miss. Hiroshi," Mr. Hanusume called. Kara blinked on hearing her name being called, and was brought back to reality by the teachers frowning face.

"Yes sir?" she stated coolly when she heard a few concealed giggles.

"Is this lecture boring you?"

"No sir," she hastened to exclaim. "My head's just hurting a bit."

"Do you want to go to the nurse?"

"No, no sir it'll be fine."

"Very well then." Kara sighed and tried to focus on her reading, perhaps it would help take her mind off the headache.

)Hmmm, strange( came a voice in Ryou's mind. Ryou knew this voice all too well as that of his darker half, )perhaps this isn't so bad after all(

His dark half must have realized he seemed confused because he spoke again,

)This girl seems to give off an Aura of great magic. A millennium item perhaps? We will see(

Ryou tensed suddenly and clenched his fists knowing what would probably happen as soon as they got out of this class. He glanced over at Yugi and bit his lip then took a deep breath.

)What's wrong Hikari? Worried now? You don't even know the girl, why should it concern you?( his dark half asked curiously. He'd never really understood the concepts of friendship and caring and other such emotions. They were nothing to him. He didn't need all those sentimental emotions. They were for the weak.

Yugi saw Ryou glance at him out of the corner of his eye, his expression looked quite worried. Of course that sent his gaze over to Kara, despite what she'd said to Mr. Hanusumi the headache she was obviously getting seemed to be getting to her. Her semi sharp emerald green eyes were staring daggers at her notebook as she wrote, obviously trying to ignore it without luck. Occasionally she closed her eyes tightly, then opened them and returned to writing.

"I wander what's bugging her," Joey whispered to him. "She looks like she's so bored with this work that she's going to throw something. Not like it would be the first time it's been done though." Yugi simply nodded, and decided to check with Yami.

[Yami, what's your view on this?] he asked.

The spirit who was leaning in his spirit form on the back of Yugi's chair settled his sharp gaze on the girl, who seemed to turn her eyes in his and Yugi's direction as if she could see him.

{I do not know, but I sense magic around her}

[A millennium item?]

{Perhaps, but let's not jump to conclusions just yet}

After what seemed like an eternity, the bell rang to signal the end of class. Kara sighed and put her things away hurriedly, before leaving the room as soon as possible. She'd made it down the corridor, and found that her headache was gone.

"What was all that?" she asked herself quietly.

[Should we follow her?] Yugi asked the ancient spirit.

{Right now i'm more worried about keeping Ryou away from her. I'm sure his dark half can sense her magic just as well as I can} Yami replied. Yami knew well enough that if, indeed, Ryou's darker half sensed them magic then he would surely go after her and he knew that he had to protect this girl at all costs.

[Then we follow Ryou?] Yugi asked.

{Yes} came the reply

Ryou made an effort to collect his things slowly as everyone else left the classroom. He could feel his darker half's impacience growing but he continued on slowly as his hands began to shake slightly.

Yami Bakura growled from inside his soul room,

)This is beginning to get on my nerves Hikari. Stop this and follow the girl or I will just have to do it myself(

Ryou prayed that Yugi and his lighter half had caught on by now and quickly grabbed his bag and walked out of the classroom,

(I don't know were she went) he said hoping his darker half would forget about her and they could just leave.

After having told the others he'd catch up with them, Yugi made his way along, keeping an eye on Ryou. He could feel Yami growing more concerned by the minute, as Ryou tried his best to keep himself from finding the girl. The day seemed to go well, Kara only had a few classes with them and the others she had elsewhere. He knew from sneaking a peek over Kara's shoulder at her lessons list that she and Tea had gym together, so he asked her to watch her and she did. She reported that Kara had been fine, and nothing untowards had happened. Thankful for that Yugi waited by the gates after school was over.

[Yami, do you think Kara knows? I mean, about the magic?]

{No} came the blunt response. {She mearly thinks it's a headache}

[Well here she comes and Ryou's not far behind]

{You mean Bakura} Yami corrected. {His eyes are way too narrow} Yugi could see that he was right, they were. Bakura had taken over again, what a jerk. He allowed Kara to walk past, not noticing her blink away the serge of pain in her head and stepped in front of Bakura. That's where Yami took over, not willing to let his hikari face down the former tomb robber.

Knowing that Yami obviously knew what he was up to the 'former tomb robber' growled at him,

"Get out of my way Pharoah. This has nothing to do with you."

"Oh, but think it does. Anything that concerns you and innocent people is my business. Stay away from the girl Bakura," Yami said in a completely calm reasured voice.

(She's long gone now anyways, Yami) Ryou piped up from his soul room.

)Be quiet!( his darker half growled, )I'll find her and this fool isn't going to stop me. I will find whatever magic that girl has and if indeed it is a millennium item then I will take it. And I might add, there is nothing you nor that pathetic ex-pharoah can do about it(

Kara soon reached her home, which was several blocks away from school. She caught the bus in the morning but in the afternoon since she wasn't in a hurry, she walked. She walked up down the final street and up to her front door, ignoring the passersby. She pulled out her front door key and placed it into the lock and finding it hard to turn, she tried the handle and found the door already open. This meant one of her parents was home, that or she was at the wrong house. She HAD only moved to Domino a few days ago, so it was a high possibility. Reaching into her pocket she fished out the address and double checked, and found she was at the right house.

"Mom, dad?" she called as she walked into the passageway.

"In here sweetie!" her moms voice called back.

Kara dropped her bag by the coat rack, kicked her shoes off, placed her slippers on and walked into the kitchen, to find her mom busy sorting out groceries.

"Have a good day at school?" she asked cheerily.

"Sort of," Kara responded as she looked at her mom. She got most of her looks from her mom, her hair, her eyes and her height.

"Sort of?" her mom queried. "You weren't teased being the new student were you?"

"No just a headache."

"Again?" her mom asked worriedly. "Are you sure you don't want to see a doctor?" Kara sighed, it was true she'd been having these headaches since she'd arrived in Domino City last week, but she really thought nothing of it as they went eventually.

"No mother," she responded as she picked up an apple and left the kitchen.

"Oh, there's a little something for you on your bed sweetie!" her mom yelled after her as she heard her running off up the stairs.

"What is it?" Kara called back.

"Something I thought it was about time you have!" Kara cocked an inquisitive eyebrow as she headed towards her room. She pushed the door open and walked inside.

Her room was the second biggest of the three bedroom house, and was still decorated in it's original simple creamy colours from when the family had moved in. The only thing that had changed was that she'd added her own touch of things, wardrobe, bed and all. Her mom was an Egyptology and ancient history professor at the university, and her dad was an archeology and history professor there when they moved jobs so a love for ancient cultures ran in her blood so to speak. Egypt especially, although other past histories intrigued her to, but Egypt was just too mystical not to be noticed. One particular item in her room though that made it hers, was the piano up the far corner. Usually she practiced straight away when she got home, but this thing her mother had put on her bed was to interesting not to take an interest in.

She walked over and sat down, before pulling the small parcel into her lap. It was wrapped in a small gold piece of paper. Small item, small wrapping she thought. She unwrapped it carefully, and inside was a really beautiful gold necklace. It was two crescent moons connected at their backs, one pointing upwards anf the other downwards. The final part was a single eye right in the middle of the joined pieces, and it stared back at her as she lifted up the strong but light gold chain.

"It's so pretty," she said to herself. "But it looks so like the things Ryou and Yugi were wearing. Maybe I shouldn't." Immediately her headache whelled up again, and she put the necklace down. She walked away to soothe the headache and went to change into something more comfortable. In the end that turned out to be a pair of jeans, and a gypsy sleeved top with bow ties at the sides in a pretty shade of sky blue.

"I guess I can't disappoint mom," she said to herself as she picked the necklace up and put it on. She walked up to the mirror on her dressing table and looked at herself in it; the necklace seemed made for her. The magic causing the headache forced it to appear again, till it was close to a migrain. Closing her eyes Kara moved to her bed and lay down, and not long later fell asleep just as the eye in the necklaces centre began to shimmer gold.

Kara slept peacefully on her soft cushy bed for a couple of hours, and she was so comfortable that she didn't want to move. She hadn't noticed her headache residing as she slept, but it was slowly shifting away. The necklace at her neck was still glowing away, lighting her room up with a soft golden shimmer. Several warnings flashed through her mind as she slept, they were verbal words but where they came from she didn't know.

''Beware the white haired one'' a voice cooed softly. ''He may do you harm. But do not fear the boy with amethyst eyes, he means you well'' Just then Kara's mother walked up the stairs to tell her that dinner was ready and she saw the glow under the door. Wandering what was causing it, she pushed the door opena dn peered it. No sooner had she done so did the glow immediately vanish, leaving the room in semi darkness.

"Kara honey," she called as she walked over to her sleeping daughter. She shook her gently. "Kara." Kara groaned and opened a sleepy eye, finally noticing that her headache was gone.

"Yes mom?" she asked.

"Dinner's ready if you're hungry." Hearing her stomach growl, Kara blushed and realised that she was rather hungry.

"I'll be down in a moment," she told her mom. With a nod the older woman left, leaving Kara to look at her necklace. She lifted it up with her fingers, and stared at it. White hair, amethyst eyes? She asked silently. What does that mean?

Bakura had long left the pharoah and his host behind and had headed in the opposite direction he'd seen the girl walk off to knowing that if he went that way the annoying pharoah would most likely follow. When he saw the pharoah walk off with his 'friends' he headed back towards the school. He went straight to the office which would still be open for a while longer. He walked into the secretaries office and gave them one of Ryou's usual sweet smiles. One of the secretaries smiled back,

"Is there something we can do for you, Ryou?" He nodded,

"I was sort of wondering if you would be able to give me the address of the new girl in my class. Takara Hiroshi. She's knew and I thought she'd enjoy a tour of the city." The secretary smiled,

"Sure sweety." Yami Bakura nearly gagged,

)Sweety? Aibou, you really need to get a life( Ryou just ignored him and stayed quiet in his soul room. Yami Bakura smiled and thanked the secretary as she passed him a piece of paper with Kara's address on it.

Kara was eating her dinner quietly, with both her parents sitting at the table. Her head was swimming with the warnings from her dream, verbal warnings. Who could they mean? Who did she know with white hair and amethyst eyes? Then it hit her, Ryou had white hair and Yugi had amethyst coloured eyes. Ryou was dangerous? That wasn't possible, he'd been really nice to her. Then she thought back to the ring around his neck, she for some reason didn't like it. She didn't mind Yugi's so much, but Ryou's did kind of give her the creeps. She wished she could talk to Yugi, but she hadn't really spoken to him except to say hi. Then she thought, she'd seen Yugi with Tea and having asked Tea where she could get duelling cards from she found out where Yugi lived.

"May I be excused?" she asked her parents.

"Are you full?" asked her mom.

"No, I just need to make a quick phone call."

"Ok."

Pushing her chair back from the table, Kara got up and wandered off into the hallway to retrieve the phone book. She sat on the stairs flicking through the pages till she got to K and searched for the Kame Game Shops number, until she finally found it. Reaching out to the cordless phone, she picked it up and dialled the number. It seemd to ring for ages, till the end like was picked up and an old voice answered.

"Kame Game shop, how can I help you?" he asked.

-Hi, is it possible to talk to Yugi please?- she asked.

-Just a moment.-

While Kara waited, Yugi's grandpa called up the stairs to Yugi who was sitting in his room with his friends. He was duelling with Joey when he heard his name being called.

"What is it grandpa?" he called back.

"There's a girl on the phone for you," came the response.

"Your girlfriend Yugi?" Joey teased, only to get a punch in the shoulder off Tea. Yugi smiled slightly, and picked up his bedroom phone.

"I've got it grandpa!" he called and he heard the other phone being put down.

"Hi this is Yugi," he answered.

Kara was relieved when Yugi's bright voice spoke on the other end of the line, she'd got the right place.

-Yugi, my name's Kara i'm in your class at school- she announced.

-Oh yes hi Kara- he responded, which alerted Yami who appeared in spirit form at his side, listening as best he could to the conversation.

-I know this might sound strange, but what do you know about golden items with eyes on them?- Yugi paused on the end of the line, which worried the girl a little.

-I know a little, why do you ask?- Kara fingered the necklace around her neck before answering.

-I think i'm in trouble- she told him. That alerted Yami even more, if she did have a millennium item it wouldn't be long before Bakura found out about it.

Yami Bakura smirked as he walked down the street towards Kara's house,

)Perhapse this'll be easy for once( Ryou heard his dark half's thoughts but ignored them. He was angry and this was the only was he knew to show it from his soul room other then shouting it out full blast at his darker half which would, most likely, just set him off. Since he really didn't need an angry Yami right now, he stayed quiet on the bed of his soul room. Yami Bakura smirked as he stepped onto her street and glanced over at her house,

)We're here( Ryou closed his eyes and tried not to listen as the tombrobber walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

Kara was still on the phone to Yugi as she heard the knock on the door, and as if by instinct she knew she would not like the person who answered it. Noticing the girl's pause on the other end of the phone, Yugi's concern grew.

-Kara is something wrong?- he asked.

-I...erm...I think Ryou's here- she managed to tell him, with a stutter in her voice.

-Ok, well don't panic, just go along with him and I'll try and catch up with you-

-Where?- she half cried as her mom appeared to open the door. -I don't want to be alone with him. I have a bad feeling about him- Yugi hadn't told her about Ryou's 'other' self, he didn't want to frighten her as she already sounded worried enough. He thought hurriedly, as Kara moaned softly on the other end of the phone line.

"Kara!" her mom called and Yugi could hear her. "One of your school friends is here to see you, he wants to know if you want to hang out."

"Who is it mom?" Kara responded as she covered the mouth piece of the phone.

"He say's his name is Ryou." Yugi heard Kara choke back a gasp even with the receiver of the phone covered by her hand. Kara thought about it for a few minutes, as she bit her lower lip.

"I'll be right there!" she called to her mom.

{She must not go with him} Yami warned Yugi through their link. She'll be in a lot of danger and I doubt she'll know how to handle it if Bakura appears and becomes dangerous

He's already dangerous enough/ Yugi countered. She's got to do something till we can help her/

Then tell her to go somewhere we know how to get to and to take a duelling deck if she has oneYugi nodded, knowing that Yami would probably be right on the last count as Kara had said at school that she liked duel monsters.

-Kara- he called over the phone just as she was about to update him on what was going on. -Go with Ryou, and get to Domino Park and if you have a duelling deck with you, take it along-

-I sure hope you know what you're talking about- she told him. -Bye-

Kara placed the phone back in it's cradle and disappeared upstairs.

"Sweetie where are you going?" her mom called.

"Just got to get something and i'll be right there!" she yelled back. She grabbed her duelling cards off her bedside table where she always kept them and put them into her pocket. She hurried back down the stairs, grabbing her jacket, kicked her slippers off and slid her strap shoes on.

"Ok," she chimed as she saw Ryou. He had his sweet smile on she noticed, but the vibes she was feeling were not the same as earlier.

"Bye mom!" she called shutting the door. "So, where shall we hang out Ryou?"

)You take over aibou but if you speak a word about me I swear you'll wish you were dead( Yami Bakura growled as he relinquished control of the body they shared, )I have plans to make(

Ryou looked nervous as he took control but soon regained his composure.

"Well, would you like a tour of the city?" he asked, remembering what his dark half had told the school secretary. His smile had long left his face and he worried for the young girl before him. Of course, what could he do to help her? All he could do was anger his Yami.

"That sounds like fun," Kara agreed, trying to keep the tremour of worry out of her voice. "Does that include the famed Domino Park? I hear it's beautiful." Kara didn't know about the spirit of the Millennium Ring, but she could feel the strange vibes coming from it. They were enhanced by the agitated aura of her necklace, which was still telling her to be weary of this boy. Despite that fact she still thought Ryou was kind of cute.

"Sure if that's what you want. We can go there first if you like, it isn't far," he smiled slightly. This wasn't so bad once he got around the fact that this girl was his dark halfs next target. He had to admit, she was nice and rather pretty.

"Great!" Kara chimed. "I love parks, the one back in my last hometown was amazing." She literally took a hold of his hand, and noticed that there was a slight clammy feeling to it. Surely he wasn't nervous, she was the one willingly putting herself in danger. She moved away from the house, and as the two worked towards Domino Park she tried hard to calm the aura of the necklace, which had flared up considerably with her touching Ryou's hand. Despite the necklace's obvious dislike for the boy, Kara didn't seem to care. Her headaches were gone now, she could tell and she could sense now deep down as she held Ryou's hand, that he wasn't the one who meant her harm. So if that was true, who did mean her harm? She tightened her grip on the boy's hand, and smiled at him kindly.

Meanwhile Yugi had put his phone down and was heading out of the house, forgetting about Joey, Tea and Tristan till Joey grabbed his wrist.

"Yo Yug', where ya goin' in such a hurry?"

"That was Takara from school on the phone, she thinks she has an item like my puzzle and is worried that she's in danger," he responded adjusting his jacket. "I told her to go to Domino Park and i'd meet her there."

"Damsel in distress huh?" asked Tristan. "Then we'll come to."

"Yeah, if only to keep you away from her," Tea said as a sweatdrop appeared on her face. That said the four dashed out of the game shop, said a quick goodbye to Yugi's grandpa and ran towards the park.

Ryou had been slightly startled when Kara had taken his hand but slowly let himself calm down. He was nervous enough without being afraid of the girl's touch. He blushed slightly at her smile as he led the way to the park. His Yami still seemed to be busy in his soul room mumbling to himself so he was able to calm his nerves a bit more at the thought that maybe they could get through this day without anyone getting hurt. Kara sighed as she looked into Ryou's kind brown eyes, they showed that he was rather nervous about something but was trying to calm himself down a bit. She squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture, and decided to try and make conversation.

"So Ryou, have you ever done this sort of thing before?" she asked. "You know given personal tours to new classmates? Especially girls? I didn't think anyone did that anymore." Kara could've kicked herself, there her bright and friend making side went again, being optormistic and overly friendly with others. Kara was a girl of two halves, bright and easily made friends by being nice, bright and kind to them and on other occasions she could be a sweet and kind girl who kept her opinions to herself.

Ryou shook his head,

"You're the first new student I've met. I just moved here a year ago. I was in your place once too. I know how it feels to be new and thought I'd help you out a bit by showing you around." It was partially a lie of course. This was all his Yami's idea though he had wanted to make Kara feel welcomed. Kara once again smiled at him, a smile much warmer than the last one. Kara could even feel herself tightening her hand a little more on Ryou's, and she stepped a step closer to him, whereas a few minutes ago she'd been walking at half arms length. The two walked through the gates of the park, and began walking along the path. Kara was amazed at the beauty of the place, especially with the sky now changing colour as the onset of sunset was becoming apparent, even though it would be about another hour yet.

"It's very nice of you to do this Ryou, the sweetest gesture i've ever had," she told him in a soft voice. "Not many guys in this day and age offer to do this for anyone. They're too focused on looks and what not." Once again she took a step closer to the white haired teen so that she was practically centimeters from his side. She couldn't help it despite the inkering inside her chest that she was still in danger, she liked Ryou even though she'd only known him for a day. What am I doing? she thought as she mentally kicked herself. I'm getting close to a guy I barely know, and who could possibly be a threat to me. I'm either nuts or just very brave.

At the same Time, Yugi and his friends had entered the park at the other entrance and were now looking around for the two. It wouldn't be hard to spot them though, not since one had white hair and the other had crimson red hair with gold streaks in it.

{I can sense two sets of magic} Yami told Yugi as he appeared in his spirit form beside him. {One is ultra powerful and evil, and the other one is powerful and yet semi unknown}

[Semi unknown?] Yugi questioned. [could you be more specific?]

{I don't know whether it's good or evil yet}

[Oh, do you know where it's coming from?] Yami took a moment to sense for it, looking around the large parkland.

{Down beside Domino lake} he responded nodding in the direction of the lake.

[Right] Yugi nodded.

"Guys Domino Lake!" he cried to the others and took off.

Ryou smiled as they neared the lake.

"This is the best spot in the whole park. Come on." He walked towards the lake pulling her with him and sat down on the grass by the edge. A mother swan and her offspring watched them from nearby. There were also Ducks roaming around the waters bobing up and down. Ryou looked around then and noticed that there was no one else around. He shrugged and looked over at Kara, his face flushing slightly. This really wasn't the kind of place he should have taken her, expecially after they'd just met.

)I'll take over from here( Yami Bakura said pushing Ryou to the back of his own mind and into his soul room.

Ryou began to panic. What was his Yami going to do? He hoped to god that he wouldn't hurt Kara.

"Just take the item and leave her alone," he mumbled to himself. Kara felt the dark aura grow the moment Bakura forced control over his hikari, her necklace was starting to shimmer slightly at the eye, telling her to move. Kara however didn't listen to it, she trusted her female intuition a lot more than the word of an item of jewelery. Sure she was in danger, but not from the Ryou she liked, but from something else that she took to be just a dark side of him that he seemed to fall victim to. Not knowing what else to do, and not knowing how long it would take for Yugi to find them she did the first thing that came to mind and rested her head on Ryou's shoulder.

"This is beautiful," she told him softly. "Thanks." It was at that time the necklace seemed to glow with a more relaxed aura, and lifting her head she gazed sidelong to the left as Yugi and his three friends approached from half way around the lake. As they neared she could sense a change in Yugi's energy, something was different about him now and that was true as Yami had taken over.

Yami Bakura growled slightly and pushed Kara away from him just as he saw the pharaoh and his friends approaching.

"Why can't that fool stay out of my business," he hissed before grabbing Kara by the wrist and dragging her up.

"Time to go," he said dragging her off at a run.

Kara felt the fiercely tight grip on her wrist and struggled to break it, but Bakura was much stronger than her when he was in control of Ryou's body.

"Ryou stop it, you're hurting me!" she cried as she tried to keep up with him. In response to her cry of distress, her necklace began to glow at the eye. She didn't notice this at all, she was too concerned about the fact that her hand was starting to turn white.

"Ryou please!" she pleaded. "Please stop!"

"Leave her alone thief!" she heard Yugi or rather Yami yell as he ran to catch up. Kara had no idea what was going on, and had no idea that her necklace was about to intervene.

A bright flash of light erupted from the newely activated item, stunning both her and Ryou or rather Bakura.

"What!" Bakura yelped releasing his hold on the girl.

"What in the world?" he growled slightly and looked at the necklace, "I knew it. A millennium item." He then glanced at Yami and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't going to let this chance get away from him because of that annoying stuck up royal brat. Quickly ceasing her chance Kara backed away from the white haired teen, she knew it wasn't Ryou hurting her, it was someone else all together. Yugi or rather Yami was at her side in seconds and put himself between the evil spirit and the girl, whose necklace was still faintly glowing.

"I warned you earlier Bakura," he growled. "You stay away from this girl. That item is not rightfully yours."

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes then retreated to his soul room leaving Ryou to deal with the concequences. He paced his soul room muttering to himself about 'the annoying pharaoh always getting in the way'. Ryou blinked and stared at Yami for a second then let his gaze fall to the ground. He looked up again, glanced at Kara then turned and walked away. 'She's never going to want to speek to me again,' he thought to himself as he walked away.

Kara watched him walk away, she'd have gone after him immediately but Tea was holding her arm and was trying to see if she was ok. She was of course, but she was concerned for Ryou. It wasn't his fault, her necklace had shown her that when the light had blinded her for a moment. She could see the lost feeling in his heart, she could feel it.

For the rest of the evening after Ruou had left and before Kara returned home, she spent it on a bench in the park listening to Yugi, who'd since switched back with Yami. explain about the Millennium Items and about Ryou and that he had an evil spirit who took him over without caring what happened. She also learned as Yami studied her necklace and from what she'd said about what had happened during the flash of light, that her item somehow was able to find lost things, and was especially good at finding lost souls.

"So is this a curse or a gift?" she asked Yugi, as the whole thing finally sunk in.

"Depends on how you see it," he responded getting up. "If you let it be a curse it will be, the same if you let it be a gift. Sleep on it ok." Kara nodded and watched Yugi walk off with Tea, Joey and Tristan before heading home herself.

That night as she lay in bed, staring at her school uniform hanging over a near by chair, her thoughts travelled to Ryou.

I'm going to talk to him in the morning she thought finally. Evil spirit or no evil spirit. She travelled off to sleep almost immediately afterwards.

The next day she walked into school after getting off the bus, knowing she was in the same class as Ryou. Maybe since school wouldn't start for another ten minutes yet, she could get him alone, if she could find him.

Ryou walked into the school holding his bookbag tightly. He sighed as he walked to his locker and got the books he needed and dropped off the books he didn't need. His hand went to the bruise on his cheek before he closed his locker and headed for class.

Kara was also heading to class, from down another corridor when she bumped right into someone. She didn't realise who it was till she went to apologise, and saw a shock of white hair in front of her.

"Ryou," she said happy to see him. "I was hoping to see you today." Then she saw the bruise on his cheek, and her eyes shone with worry.

"That looks nasty," she told him as she reached up and gently brushed her fingers over the brownish blue mark.

Ryou winced slightly grabbing her hand and shook his head,

"It's nothing. We better get to class." With that he walked off towards their class. He really didn't want to have to explain were he'd gotten the bruise. Kara followed him to class, managing to keep up with him, but she planned to get him alone as soon as possible. Her chance didn't come before the lesson, it would have to come later. Till then she kept passing glances over her shoulder at him during class; she considered handing him a note, but the fact that their teacher was constantly asking questions about anything and everything, she couldn't. After her first set of classes she rushed to the lunch room, she knew Ryou went and sat in there at lunch she'd seen him. Seeing him, she made her way quickly over to him and before he could sit down she grabbed his wrist and led him out of the cafeteria.

"Come on," she said in one of her brighter tones. "There's a nicer spot in the picnick grounds outside. Besides, we need to talk."

Ryou bit his lip,

"Uhh ok." He was sure she must be mad for what had happened the day before but he was shocked that she didn't seem to show it. What did she want to talk about? Probably about last night which he would like to forget completely.

Kara found herself a comfy spot under a large tree, that had tonnes of branches hanging off it's main trunk, some of which were even hanging quite low towards the ground. She sat down and patted the seat next to her, and waited for Ryou to sit down. When he was seated, she pulled out a sandwich and took a bite out of it, looking at him thoughtfully.

"Ryou," she said eventually. "Yugi told me everything. I know about Bakura and the millennium items." She didn't wait for his response, but slipped her hand gently onto his and put her sandwich into her lunch bag.

"I know it wasn't you who hurt me last night, my necklace was warning me and I didn't listen. It was Bakura, and I know that. I'd have gone after you last night, but Tea's a worry wort." She looked at him long and hard, before continuing.

"The fact is I know it isn't and wasn't your fault, and I wanted to tell you that this morning, but you were too widthdrawn." She touched the bruise on his cheek again. "And obviously afraid."

He looked away.

"It is my fault though. My fault for putting the darned item on every morning. My fault for not fighting back and protecting you from him. My fault for not getting rid of it for good," he told her. Of course he knew trying to get rid of it was useless. Tristan had already tried that. The item always came back.

)You really are pathetic, Ryou. Why don't you just shut up already. I'm sure she doesn't want to listen to you. She's obviously just pittying you( Yami Bakura pipped up from his soul room as he lay on his back on his bed with his arms behind his head. This girl was prooving to be quite interesting while also rather irritating. Kara's soft smile she'd given him the night before graced her face again as she looked at him, he was blaming himself for something he couldn't stop. Yugi had explained to her last night that the people who owned Millennium Items were destined to have them, whether they liked it or not. It was a responsibility they all bared, even Ryou. Leaning over she gently kissed the white-haired teen on the cheek.

"I don't blame you at all," she told him. "I'm not mad either."

Ryou sighed and blushed slightly trying to ignore his dark half's words. All lies he told himself. Kara did like him and she wasn't mad. She understood what was going on and she wasn't afraid of him. Ryou smiled at her and leant against the tree then grabbed his bag and pulled out his lunch. Kara smiled again, glad that she'd finally managed to talk to him. Pulling out her sandwich she took a bite out of it, and leant against the tree herself, totally forgetting that she was still holding Ryou's hand.

Thanks for explaining Yugi she thought to the smaller spikey haired teen, even though he probably couldn't hear her. I owe you one.

Ryou blushed slightly realising they were still holding hands but decided he didn't mind. They ate their lunches quietly and Ryou glanced at her every now and then. She looked so beautiful sitting there. He blushed at the thought and looked away again. Kara chanced a small glance at him from time to time, when he wasn't looking mainly. Taking a quick look at her watch, she noticed that the bell for the end of the lunch hour was going to ring in a few minutes and seperating her hand from Ryou's, she packed her things away.

"Ryou, I know we don't have our next class together," she told him as the two got up. "So i'll see you after school ok, i'd like to finish that tour we started last night. If I survive maths that is." She giggled and took off, giving him a short wave as she went. Ryou smiled and watched as she walked off. He couldn't wait till after school. He couldn't remember a better day in his life then this one. He sighed as he packed his stuff away and headed to his history class.

- - - - - - - - - -

Ok R&R if you want to see if anything more happens between Ryou and Kara.


	2. Past Revival

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's original characters enough said, lol. I do however as I've said own Takara 'Kara' Hiroshi and her item the Millennium Crescent. Her past life Anya is an extension of her character also.

Special notice: Yet another story from an RPG thank to my RPG partner. Thank you.

* * *

Takara Hiroshi or Kara for short, had been attending Domino High School for over a month now and was getting to grips with everything in the city. She had a crush on a white haired school friend of hers called Ryou, but was unaware of how he felt about her, and kept her distance and her crush remained a secret. She'd actually taken a massive interest in learning about the powers of her Millennium item, the Millennium Crescent. The double crescent moon necklace with the Millennium Eye at it's centre, hung around her neck daily and stayed hidden under her clothing.  
  
One particular day she was sitting under a willow tree in the grounds eating her lunch, playing no attention whatsoever to the world around her. As she bit into her apple, she lifted the pendant up so she could look at it and the eye glistened gold in the sunlight.  
  
'Let's see' she thought. 'I've managed to grasp your powers of finding people and things in the present, and i'm slowly getting the hang of finding out your powers of finding lost souls. So I wander, is it possible to find out my lost past. Am I able to see where you came from?' The pendant glistened of it's own accord, as if in response to her question. She felt an energy whell up inside of her, and small shadows began to creep in around her body. Shivering she hurriedly stopped thinking about it, she wasn't ready to handle the shadows yet. The shadows dissipated and disappeared, leaving her alone to finish her lunch.  
  
Finishing her lunch, Kara got up, threw her rubbish away and headed into the school for the rest of her classes a few minutes before the bell was meant to ring. She had Gegraphy, she didn't like Geography much, but she put up with it. She sat in her seat, waiting for her other classmates to arrive so the lesson could start. They finally did, and the teacher turned from writing on the board to address them all.

"Ok class!" she called to settle them down. "Let's focus on the formation of rivers, and please try and keep your attention on the lesson this time." Kara giggled a little, knowing that half the class would probably not listen at all. Ryou sighed slightly as he glanced over at Joe and Duke, who looked as if they were ready for a nice nap. They both sent him a grin as the teacher turned out the lights so they could see the screen and put their feet up on their seats.  
"And they wonder why they both failled this class last year," Ryou mumbled then glanced over at Kara. She was beautiful and so kind. Kara was leaning on her hand as the video played away on the screen of the large TV the teacher had hired for the lesson. The voice over was talking about how rivers were formed and how they eventually ended up in the sea, while diagrams and real life images played away. She scribbled her notes subconsciously, whilst her mind seemed to go elsewhere. It slipped back to what she was thinking about earlier, whether her necklace could show her her past life and why it had fallen to her to possess it. The eye at the centre slowly glimmered, causing the shadows of the room to twitch. Slowly images of sandy streets and brownish yellow buildings flashed into her vision, and she was only brought out of her daze when one of her classmates cried out in fright.  
"Helen, what's the matter?" asked Miss. Kasu as she switched the lights on and paused the video.  
"The shadows were moving miss," the blonde-haired girl cried. "Like they were alive."  
"It was probably just the way the light from the video was moving," Joey drawled out half asleep. "You shouldn't let it bother ya." Shrugging the teacher started the video again and once again plunged the room into darkness as she turned the lights off. Kara looked back at Helen and shrugging it off, went back to writing. 

Ryou bit his lip as he glanced over at Helen. He too had seen the shadows move. He'd seen them move like that before. The shadows only moved like that when someone was using Shadow Magic. Since Yugi wasn't in his class and he knew he hadn't done anything he supposed it must have been Kara. Of course, Kara probably didn't know this since she still didn't quite understand the magic of her own millennium item and the shadow realm. He quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper and moved up, making it look like he couldn't see the screen and gently tapped Kara on the shoulder while the teacher wasn't looking.  
Kara felt a light tap on her shoulder, but ignored it till it came again and this time harder. Frowning she turned and Ryou handed her the note, what was he playing at? She unfolded the note and read the contents.  
  
_Kara, your shadow powers are acting on their own. You've got to control them _  
  
Kara knew about her magic and the shadow realm, and she also knew that she still couldn't control it. That would explain though why Helen had screamed like she had, she must've not been paying attention to the untamed item. She scribbled a note on the back of the paper, that read:  
  
_Sorry, I didn't realise _

It was a half hearted response as she folded it up and handed it back to Ryou, before turning around and continuing with her work. The item glimmered slightly in response to Kara's sudden change in mood, causing a tiny shadow by her hand to twitch and she hurriedly hushed it as best she could. Ryou sighed as he watched her. He knew what it was like to be unable to control ones shadow magic. He still couldn't control his but to him that didn't matter because he would rather throw the thing away rather then learn how to use it. Thinking about everything his darker half had done with the magic of the item sickened him to no end. His yami had hurt so many innocent people, stolen souls and even killed a few people with that magic. He was glad his Yami was asleep in his soul room. The dark spirit hated school and always used the time to catch up on his sleep. If he were awake he'd probably be insulting his hikari about being afraid of the magic he possessed. Ryou folded his arms on the desk in front of him and placed his head on them as he tried his hardest to concentrate on the movie. Geography was soon over and Kara packed her things away quietly, as the whole show had taken up the whole hour. She walked out of the room, nearly bumping into another classmate before heading to her final class, science.  
  
Science was pretty boring to, but not so much so that she lost concentration and allowed her new found powers to take hold of her. She rubbed her necklace quietly as she wrote down information about the laws of physics and the like, and was happy the bell had rung, now she could leave school.  
  
She walked out of the gates and was acting quieter then was her norm. Her mind had slid back to wandering about her past and such things, and the item had been sensing this all day. It wanted to obey her and it could only do that if she wanted to know, which she so obviously did, but didn't seem to want to act on it. She went to her ballet class as she normally did and it left her alone, but as soon as Kara entered her house afterwards, locked the door and headed upstairs with her homework assignment, it decided to take action.  
"I'm so glad my homework doesn't have to be in till Tuesday," Kara moaned.

'I'll do it later' she thought as she changed and laid herself down on her bed. She immediately fell asleep, her mind drifting away into the past as the magic of her necklace slowly took her along for the ride.

Ryou walked down the street towards his house. He'd taken the long way so he could do some thinking. His Yami was still asleep in his soulroom which made the young Hikari rather thankful. What had Kara done that activated her millennium item in class? He hoped that she'd be ok. He knew how dangerous the shadow magic could be.  
"Maybe I should to and see her," he mumbled to himself. He really cared for her. She was his closest friend. Sure there was Yugi and his gang but they were closer to each other then they were to him. He was just a tag along to them. He nodded to himself as he turned and headed for Kara's house praying that his dark half would stay asleep for another hour or two. Having him wake up while he was talking to Kara would put the girl in danger seeing as Bakura wanted her millennium item so badly.  
Meanwhile, Kara's Millennium item was glowing faintly in her now darkening room. The sun was setting over the horizon, forcing the cream coloured room into darkness. It was slowly drawing her backwards into her past, a past she was soon to learn she shouldn't have really asked about.  
  
(Past sequence)  
  
"Wake up sleepy head," a female voice called nudging her. "Come on, there are chores to be done you know." Kara groaned as she turned over, buying her head under her brown blanket. Brown blanket? Kara woke suddenly and sat up looking around at her new surroundings. She was in a mudbrick building, staring into the eyes of a youngish woman with hair and eyes not dissimilar to her own.  
"Where?" she asked.  
"Where, is yours and your sisters room," the woman told her smirking slightly. Kara suddenly felt like she wasn't herself, and her mind slipped into someone elses as if it hadn't been real to begin with.  
"Sorry mother," she apologised. "I didn't mean to sleep late."  
"That's ok Anya, now go and help your sister get some water, she can't lug that jug on her own you know."  
  
The girl now known as Anya got up and dusting off her knee length white dress, ran out of the house leaving her mother to roll her eyes and wander why sometimes.  
  
(end current memory sequence)  
  
Kara's mother had gone upstairs to see if her daughter wanted dinner, and had found her sleeping soundly so had left her be.

Ryou continued on his way keeping a close eye on his sleeping Yami. A few more blocks and they'd be at her door and he could make sure she was ok. Something inside him kept telling him she needed him for some odd reason. As he walked he soon saw Yugi walking down the street. The spike haired boy glanced over when he saw the white haired boy and smiled, "What are you doing here Ryou?" He asked in his usual gentle cheery voice.  
"I going to check up on Kara. Her millennium item was acting strange today and I want to make sure nothing's happened to her," he said honestly, "What are you doing here Yugi? Shouldn't you be with Joey and the others?"  
"I just felt like going for a walk all of a sudden," Yugi shrugged, "Mind if I join you? If something's wrong with Kara's millennium item she might need both our help. Yami's asleep right now but I'm sure if somethings wrong I can wake him up."  
Ryou nodded,

"Ok then."  
(Past world)

Anya found herself helping her year older sister Kiya with a large and heavy urn of water, and both struggled to move it away from the river. Anya struggled to keep up with her older sister, and some of the water splashed onto her face. It was cool and refreshing in the heat of the Egyptian sun, and made her smile.  
"Let's stop a minute," Kiya told her. "I'm going to hurt my hands if we try any longer."  
"At least you've got big hands," Anya laughed. "Mine are only tiny."  
"Like you small one," Kiya teased casually flickinga little water at her baby sister.  
"I'll be grown up to your height someday," she countered heartily.  
"I'm sure, now let's try and heave this back to mom."  
  
The two girls once again began to move the urn along, carrying it just a few inches off the ground. It was a struggle as they were both young and small compared to the other children of the village. They'd barely got another meter or so and they were panting.  
"Why can't dad help or brother?" Anya whined. "Our brother is busy with the animals and dads helping with the tomb," Kiya responded. Anya groaned and lowered her half of the urn into the sand.  
"I'm not going any further till someone helps us," she said finally and sat down in the sand.  
  
(end current sequence)  
  
In her room, Kara's necklace sensed the approaching energies of the other two items and began to glow sharply. The Millennium Puzzle it recognised as friendly, but the ring was still high on its danger list.

The two hikari's soon made it to the house and Ryou casually knocked on the door. Yugi blinked once then seemed to change all of a sudden. Ryou's eyes went wide as he looked the other boy over, "Yami? Is something wrong?"  
"I sense a strong power emenating from this house," Yami replied glancing up at Kara's bedroom window.  
Kara's necklace may have gone against her conscious wish and taken her back to her past, but it still obeyed one of it's cardinal functions and that was to protect her. It's glow gently lit up the room, flooding it with a semi bright gold light.  
  
Meanwhile her mother approached the door downstairs, as she and Kara were the only ones in till her dad got home from his late teaching lesson at the university. She yawned having just finished cleaning up the kitchen, and opened the door to the two teens. One she recognised as Ryou, as her daughter had hung around with a lot in the last month. The other she didn't recognise by recognition but by word of mouth. It had to be Yugi, Kara had told her abotu his unusually shaped hair afterall.  
"What can I do for you boys?" she asked kindly. Yugi hadn't met her either, or rather he and Yami hadn't. Kara got her looks from her mother, but hair was decidedly more pronounced.  
"We're here to see Kara if that's ok," Yami told her.  
"She's actually sleeping right now," her mom responded glancing up the stairs, then she saw the light under Kara's door.  
"Oh, she must've just woken up. Come in. Go upstairs, her bedroom's first to the right," she said as she let them come in. Yami nodded a thank you as she closed the door, and the two boys headed up the stairs.  
"Remember to knock!" her mom called up as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am," Ryou said kindly as he headed up the stairs after Yami. He looked at the light that seemed to be coming from the door and lifted an eyebrow. That didn't look like the kind of light that would come from a lamp. It looked like the golden glow of a millennium item, "What do you think Yami?" Yami's sharp crimson eyes stared at the glow intently and he nodded, Ryou was right, that was a Millennium Item's glow if ever he saw one. Reaching out he rapped on the door a couple of times and waited, but Kara didn't answer his knock. Was she asleep or didn't she hear him knock?  
"Kara?" he called softly. "Kara?" After he didn't receive an answer, he reached out to the door handle and turned it. Opening the door he stepped into the soft golden light that was bathing the room, all of it coming from the item at the girls neck. He motioned for Ryou to step inside and closed the door gently. He approached the sleeping girl quietly, and reaching out placed his hand on her shoulder. The necklace reacted by sparking slightly, but he shook her anyway before removing his hand.  
"Kara?" he asked again. "Wake up." Kara didn't stir and her skin looked paler than usual.  
"Crescent cease this immediately, you'll draw attention otherwise. Do you really want that?" The necklace sensed his concern, but it took several minutes for it to lower its protective glow to a minimum shine. Once again Yami chanced waking the girl, and once again she didn't move.  
  
(ancient time)  
Kiya had convinced some of the other boys to help her and Anya move the urn of water, till they'd got it back to their home. Thanking them as they placed it under the straw shelter, Kiya turned and grinned at her sister.  
"Time to clean out the dirty straw," she told her. "Bet I can make a bigger pile of straw than you."  
"Sure, i'll take you up on that bet," Anya countered and ran into the house to get some of the straw, and her sister was soon hot on her heals. It was a game to them, and it helped get the chores done. 

Ryou looked worried as he walked around the bed to Kara's other side and shook her slightly as well, "Come on Kara. Please wake up." He stopped shaking her however as he felt his Yami awakening in his soul room.  
  
)Where in the world are we you little pest?( he yawned groggily as he looked around his soul room then glanced out into the real world, )What are we doing here? And with that annoying pharaoh no doubt( he growled angrily.  
  
(Yami, uhhh, we're at Kara's place. I just wanted to check up on her) he said quietly. He clenched his fists slightly in worry that his Yami would take over and harm one of his two companions. He took a deep breath and chanced a glance at Yami mouthing the words 'he's awake'.

)Hmmm, well I suppose this isn't all bad. It would have been much better had the pharaoh not been here, however( Yami Bakura mumbled as he began to take control of his Hikari's body as he'd done so many times before though this time Ryou attempted to stop him.  
"Bakura this is not the time for you to be acting like this," Yami growled out as he placed the back of his hand against Kara's white cheek. It was cold, as if she was frozen.  
"Leave Ryou be to help a friend for once, or I swear i'll take care of you myself."

Yami Bakura, who'd finally gotten control, glared at the pharaoh,

"Do you really think I care about this pathetic mortal? Let her die for all I care. I just want her millennium item."  
  
Ryou sighed from his soul room awating the fight that would almost certainly ensue. He just hoped that Kara would be ok. Why was her item doing this anyway? Was it trying to harm her or was it trying to help her? Yami glared viciously at the former tomb robber, he'd have a job trying to take her Millennium Item, as if it stung him with it's power it would hammer him for sure.  
"You'd let your hikari's closest friend die for your own selfish means?" he demanded. "If so then you're an even more disgusting and disgraceful spirit then I thought."  
  
(past sequence)  
  
Anya had since beaten her sister in their game, and growing tired of her constant running about the house Anya's mother sighed and told her she could go and play.  
  
Happily the small girl ran off down to the nile river, and began splashing at the water with her tiny delicate hands. She flicked water at a nearby waterbird, causing it to take flight. Water rained down on her from it's wet wings and she giggled slightly. Then, something caught her eye. A gold necklace was floating into her eye line. Wading into the water, she retrieved it, marvelling at the beauty of the little trinket. She returned to the bank and examined it. It consisted of two back to back crescent moons, with a single eye at the centre. She hooked it around her neck and fastened the clasp, and instantly it seemed attached to her.  
"Pretty," she exclaimed rubbing it with her fingers. It was then she felt a finger tap her on the shoulder, and she jumped in surprise. Turning she found herself facing a taller boy with white hair and brown eyes, the one she knew as Bakura.  
  
(end past sequence)

Yami Bakura scowled when he tried to touch the item. It felt as if it had just come out of a pit of lava. He could take alot of pain but wrapping his whole hand around that thing and trying to take it off the girls neck would be far too much for the tombrobber and he knew it. He growled as he gave his Hikari control over his body once more and plopped down on the bed of his soul room brooding over his failure. Ryou sighed and placed a hand on Kara's forehead,

"What's wrong with her? Why is she so cold while the item is so hot?"  
"I do not know," Yami responded as Yugi appeared in spirit form beside him. "I don't know enough about her necklace or her powers to say what's going on."  
[Maybe she's cold because the room's cold] Yugi offered. Yami shook his head.  
{Not possible Yugi, this room's warm}  
  
He moved his hand from Kara's face, still curious as to why she was so cold. The only time anyone apperaed like this was when they were deceased, but Kara was still breathing and her pulse seemed fine as he'd checked, but she was still pale and cold.  
"The item's using power," Yami stated eventually. "It's probably the amount it's using or it's forming the only protection it knows how to use. It knows extreme heat hurts, which is why it's gotten hotter. It's also able to throw that heat around, which was why I got burnt by it when I touched her shoulder."  
[Yami, is she going to be all right] asked Yugi worriedly.  
{As of yet I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see}  
  
(past sequence)

Anya stood up and stared at the white haired boy, as he stared back at her. She knew Bakura from around the village, he was a nice person and helped out a lot, especially the smaller kids like herself. He could be amazingly tough and sharp when he wanted to be, it told those who'd harm others NOT to bother trying.  
"What are you doing down here Bakura?" she asked sweetly. "Out for a walk? On errands?" 

(end past sequence)

Ryou bit his lip and took her hand in his as he sat down on the edge of the bed, "I suppose all we can really do is wait and hope it all works out ok." He glanced at the item for a second cursing its existance then leaned his back on the headbored of the bed.  
  
(past sequence)

"I was doing some errands but I've just finished them," he shrugged as he sat down taking off his shoes and let his feet dangle in the water. He brushed a hand through his hair and laid on his back before smirking and kicking water at Anya. 

(end past sequence)(past sequence)  
  
Anya cried out in alarm as the cold water splashed her, and she quickly reacted by kicking some water back at him. Which resulted in a free for all, till they were both soaked. Finally tired as she was still young, Anya sat down and slid her feet into her sandals. Her hand moved up to the golden necklace around her neck, and she rubbed it gently. The eye at it's center glistened, and the land before the girl wavered slightly like water that had ripples flowing through it. Momentary visions of strange things flashed by her young emerald green eyes, but she had no idea what they were, although they seemed to resemble people.  
"Ouch," she moaned closing her eyes tightly. She shook her head sharply, trying to force her upcoming headache away.  
  
Why did this seem so familiar to her? Had she experienced this before or was it later on?" 

(end past sequence)

In reality, Kara's still resting form stirred slightly and a groan of gentle pain passed her lips. Yami turned his eyes on the girl on seeing and hearing her movements, and her eye lids seemed to scrunch up as if she'd felt a light pain.  
'Kara, what's wrong?' he thought silently. Ryou bit his lip and tightened his grasp on her hand as she did this, "I wish I had the millennium eye with me. Maybe then I'd be able to see what she's seeing. Maybe I'd be able to know if she's in trouble or not."  
  
(past sequence)  
  
Bakura chuckled, 

"I win," then stuck out his tongue then suddenly went still. He glanced at Anya's necklace. It seemed sort of familiar but he brushed the thought away as he stood up, "Where'd you get the necklace? It's pretty."  
"It was in the river," Anya explained. "It just came to me, like it wanted me to have it. I like it to, but it's a weird necklace. I only wish I knew more about it."  
  
The day passed by pretty quickly after that, Anya spent the rest of it playing with Bakura and finally disappeared to her own house. Lying down she touched the necklace on the covers beside her, it glistened slightly and smiling she curled up and went to sleep.

(end past sequence)

Both necklaces around Anya's necks and Kara's necks erupted in a short, sharp flash of golden light, taking them to a future version of the past.  
  
(past sequence)  
  
Anya woke to hear loud noises sounding around her, and turning to her sisters cot she saw Kiya grasping her bed covers tightly as she'd obviously heard the noises to. Both girls heard an agonised female scream, and getting up ran into the larger part of the house. Their mother was lying on the floor, eyes wide and staring blankly at them. Anya shrieked in alarm and buried her head into Kiya's chest, as she then saw her father and older brother lying in the same way.  
  
Men were standing in the room, with drawn swords that were coated in their blood. A gold light erupted sharply near by, igniting a gold light to flow from Kara's necklace which she'd left on her bed. Seeing the light, Anya rushed back into her room and grabbed the necklace by the chain, just in time to hear her older sister scream. Running back into the main room, Anya saw her sister lying dead on the ground with a soldier towering over her and what was worse, her blood and that of her families was appearing around them and seemed to be flowing out the door.  
  
She clutched her necklace tightly, forgetting to put it on and raced past the shoulders and outside after the blood as it flowed out of the building. It was moving into a circle in the centre of their small village, towards a man although she could not grasp who it was as she had never seen him before. She could hear his laugh, a cold heartless one.  
  
(end past sequence)  
  
In reality Kara's closed eyes tightened and her face portrayed pure terror, and her skin became shallow and snowy white. As it attributed to what was happening in her past. Tears also began to fall, down both her's and Anya's faces as they saw what was happening.  
"What's happening to you Kara," Ryou whispered as he closed his eyes.  
  
(past sequence)  
  
Anya swivelled arouned on her heal and ran, she knew better than to just stand there and wait to be killed. She heard heavy footsteps behind her, and saw one of the men from before giving chase. Terror showed on her face as she glanced back over her shoulder, to see the man meerly a few feet behind her. So blinded by terror she didn't see the slightly elevated stone and she tripped over it, falling flat on her face beside some buildings. Her necklace and only protectiong fell from her hand, and out of her reach. She screamed as a sharp object pierced her back, and her blood flowed away into the magic. Struggling she tried to reach her necklace, but it was too late.  
  
The crimson and gold haired girls body fell cripled on the floor, her fingers and palm lightly draped across the necklace and slowly her blood began to flow away from her body.  
  
(end past sequence)  
  
In the present day after Kara's last moan filled movement, Yami had gone and locked her bedroom door with the key she kept on her bedside table, although he didn't know why she had one. It was so her mom wouldn't come and get worried about her daughter, the last thing he and Ryou needed was an hysterical mother. Ryou looked at Yami solumly with a look of worry glinting in his eyes for the crimson haired girl who's hand he held tight, 

"Do you think it's almost over? Will she be alright?"

"I don't know Ryou," Yami responded as he touched the girls cheek again. It was still cold, but the colour was slowly returning to her skin.  
  
The Millennium Crescent glistened even brighter than ever, till it was once again semi illuminating the bedroom. The necklace lying on the ground in the past, slightly covered with a thin layer of blood shone the same way, slowly and carefully pulling Kara's mind back to her present body. Yami's hand was still on her cheek, as he hoped to feel some warmth and suddenly he felt her skin warm up beneath his palm. The light flashed all but once, and died down till it was gone and the room was in darkness. Moving his free hand, Yami felt around for the lamp on Kara's bedside table and pushed the button under the bulb. The soft pearly yellow glow of the bulb, lit up the bed and surrounding area just as Kara's eyes fluttered open. She sat up slowly and dizzily, not quite comprehending what had just happened.

"Are you ok, Kara?" Ryou asked trying to sound calm as his heart beat raced. He smiled at her and let her hand go, "We were worried about you. Do you have any idea what happened?"  
"It's fuzzy," Kara responded as she rested her head into her hands. "There was blood, gold light, armed men, my necklace and Bakura." She reached up and rubbed the now cooled off necklace, and her eyes fell to her lap as everything slowly became clear to her. She now wished she hadn't asked her necklace to show her her lost past, it wasn't pretty.  
"Goodness it was horrible," she whispered with a slight tremous in her voice and tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks leaving tear streaks on them. Ryou glanced down at his millennium ring for a second then wrapped an arm around Kara's shoulders, "We've learnt by now that anything that has to do with the millennium items isn't pretty except maybe the way they look. Whatever you saw, you shouldn't have had to see i'm sure. But all you can do now is let it make you stronger." Ryou really had no idea what he was talking about but it sounded like the right thing to say

Kara, Yami and even Yugi in his spirit form stared at Ryou after what he'd just said. It held the ring of truth sure, but still it sounded unusual.  
"I asked it to show me my lost past life," Kara told him feeling safer. "I asked for that. I didn't know the Millennium Items were created from human blood. Also Ryou I don't usually like to think about Bakura but, does he remember someone by the name of Anya?" Ryou shrugged,

"I'll ask him," then closed his eyes and wandered down the hall of his mind to Yami Bakura's soulroom. He knocked on the door once.  
)What do you want!( Yami Bakura growled. Seemed he was still in a foul mood from not being able to grab Kara's necklace. Ryou sighed and shook his head.  
(Kara wanted me to ask you something. Can I come in?) Ryou asked. The soul room door opened to the white haired Hikari's surprise and he walked in.  
  
)What?(  
  
(Kara wants to know if you knew someone by the name of Anya) Ryou explained standing in the doorway nervously.  
  
He looked startled for a second then got up off the bed, )I'm taking control( Ryou nodded sensing that his Yami just wanted to talk to Kara. It was clear that he recognised the name.  
  
Ryou's eyes opened though it was clear that it wasn't Ryou in control anymore,

"How do you know Anya?"  
Kara almost jumped in response, while Yami's guard shot up and Yugi slid away behind him.  
"Anya," Kara repeated rhymically, as she liked the name. "I was Anya, once upon a time. I...I was one of those whose blood created a Millennium Item. That's how I know her name." She then looked straight into Bakura's sharp coffee brown eyes.  
"You were her friend," she told him. "She was very fond of you as a friend, and didn't see you as evil." Yami Bakura turned away and walked over to the window, "It was the pharaoh's doing. The pharaoh at the time of course. The slaughter of the village. I was the only survivor. I promised myself I'd get revenge for everyone who died that day. And I got that revenge, oh how I got it. Too bad you don't remember Pharaoh," He smirked slightly. Yami glared at him sharply, he didn't like being reminded that he couldn't remember everything that had happened in the past, although he was aware of how his puzzle and the other items had come into being. Sensing Yami's agitation Yugi hurriedly took over, he didn't want a fight to erupt right now as it wouldn't amount to anything.  
"What's done is done," he said in his soft voice as he looked over at Bakura. "It's over now and you can't do anything change it." He then turned to Kara, his big amethyst eyes watching her as she wiped her face with her hand.  
"Kara, what was Anya like?" he asked her softly.  
"Anya or I should say I was a playful child, no older than 8 or 9 when I first left the Earth. I found the crescent floating in the nile when I first obtained it, and we were friends Bakura. You were the one who protected the smaller kids in our village, you were dare I say it, nice once. Now that I have knowledge of these two times, I know you sought revenge, but why evil Bakura? Why?"

"What do you mean? Why did I become like this? It's the same reason the others did. When I stole the millennium ring its dark magic consumed any good left in me just as it did for the other millennium item holders aside from the pharaoh here that is," Yami Bakura replied, "The darkness suited me well anyhow. I got my revenge and so much more."  
"Oh," Kara whispered as she got up. She walked over to Ryou's darker half, slowly sliding her arms around him for a very quick hug as she was sure he wouldn't appreciate it. Yugi stared at her as if she'd gone mad, even Yami's usuall sharp spirit eyes were wide with surprise.  
"If it makes any difference Bakura," she told him. "Anya doesn't think otherwise, you're still her friend. Now I suggest you guys had better go, my mom's on her way up."  
  
Indeed she was, to see how they were doing.  
"Kara honey!" she called through the locked door as Kara wandered over to open it. "Are you ok?"  
"Yeah," Kara responded as she opened the door. "Yugi, Ryou and I were just discussing some stuff."  
"Ok, I've saved some dinner for you if you want it." Yugi giggled at the look on Kara's face, her food had probably been heated up for her.  
"Sure mom. I'll see you guys later ok." Yugi nodded and grabbing Ryou's wrist walked him to the door.  
"We'll show ourselves out," he told Kara's mother. "Thank you." The older woman nodded, as Yugi dragged Ryou down the stairs, even though Bakura was still in control of his body.

Bakura was dumbstruck and his face slightly red as he followed Yugi out the door. Yugi looked over at him and he quickly relinquished control of the body to its rightful owner. Ryou blinked and shook his head then looked at Yugi, "Umm, I'm back? Hmmm, I think he's embarrased." Yugi couldn't help himself, for now that Bakura had given Ryou control of his body back, he could freely express what he thought and burst out laughing as they walked down the street. Even Yami couldn't help but snicker at the look on Bakura's face.  
"It's not surprising, it's probably the first time someone, especially a girl has been brave enough to hug him or even get close to him to say he's a friend," Yugi told him through fits of giggles.  
Yugi it is a shame you did not have one of those devices you call a cameraYami muttered sounding somewhat mischievious, totally unlike him. That picture was a treasure in it's own rightYugi simply nodded as he and Ryou continued on their way home.  
  
Kara watched them from her bedroom window on the other side of the house, as they headed away dwon the street and turning a corner disappeared. 'Just because there's evil doesn't mean people won't still like you' she thought, although Bakura would never hear it. 'They just try harder' Sighing she turned and went to eat her warmed up dinner, and it actually turned out not so bad. Although she would have to learn how to control her necklace from now on, she didn't want to end up with those memories again unless necessary.

_Thank you though she thought to the necklace. It did help _

* * *

R& R if you want more.


	3. Pained Soul

Disclaimer: Same as the first two pages, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh but I do own Kara and her item.

Special notice: Thanks to both Jaesai and Bakura's Millennium Keeper/BMK (formally Emerald's light who changed his name).

* * *

It had been two months since Kara had been swept into her past and three months since that faithful day when Ryou had first seen her walk into his classroom. He would never forget that day because that's the day his life changed, again, though he still wasn't sure whether it was for the best or not. Yami Bakura had become more distant towards him since Kara had arrived. He was even more distant when he found out that Kara was someone from his past. Ryou had thought that learning this might change him for the better but he was greatly mistaken. He was angry at his 'weakness' towards her. He cared about her and hated it. He didn't want these emotions. Ryou always knew Bakura was proud but this was far too much for even him to comprehend. Kara cared about him and wanted him to let her in. She wanted to be his friend like he and Anya were in ancient Egypt but Bakura would have none of that. Though he didn't show his anger and his resentment towards her in public he did when it was just he and his hikari.  
  
Since he'd gained the ability to separate from his host he'd found a great way to let out his anger and his frustration. For Ryou it wasn't so 'great' as Bakura had come to the realization that taking out his anger and frustration on another was quite pleasing. This left Ryou having to hide the bruises and cuts his Yami had inflicted upon him with long sleeved shirts, turtlenecks and jeans. Ryou could handle the pain inflicted by his darker half but he was terrified that someone would find out. He didn't want anyone to know. He didn't need anyone's pity or help. He knew that if anyone tried to help him his Yami might hurt them and that was the last thing in the world that he wanted. Ryou walked down the street thinking to himself and heading towards the school. It was a sunny Monday morning and his long-sleeved shirt was unbearable to wear in the heat but he'd have to bear it. He sighed as he saw the school come into view. It would be nice to see his friends after the weekend with only Bakura as company.  
Kara was there talking with Yugi, laughing at something the smaller teen had just told her. Joey and Tristan were leaning casually against one of the walls, whilst Tea practiced a few dance steps near by. Joey was the first one to see the white haired teen approach, and instantly took a critical outlook on Ryou's choice of clothing for the apparent heat wave, as he and the others were all wearing short clothing.  
"Ryou, I know you love your old English sweaters and all," Joey stated. "But this sun is baking man. Take it off for goodness sake."  
"Leave him alone," Kara warned as she hugged Ryou as he stopped beside her and Yugi. "If he wants to become a baked potato, let him." She laughed and winked at Ryou mischieviously, not realising she'd hugged him too tightly. Ryou clenched his teeth as Kara hugged him putting pressure on his bruised skin. He closed his eyes for a second not letting his pain show then sighed and smiled at Kara, "I'm fine wearing this Joey. And I happen to like baked potatoes," he joked with a grin at the blond.  
Derek walked down the hallway toward the group of kids. "Uh, hi, do any of you know the way to the main office? I'm sort of, um, lost. You don't have to bring me there, just point me in the right direction..." He trailed off at the incredulous looks on the teens' faces.  
"The main doors lead right to the office. It's on the left hand side as you walk in. I'm guessing you're new here since I've never seen you. I'm Ryou," Ryou replied to the other boy with a gentle smile. Kara started to laugh as she hooked her hand into his own, closing her fingers around his. Joey just shrugged in response, muttering something about it being Ryou's choice.  
"And i'm Kara," Kara smiled as she leant against Ryou with her school books in her other arm.

Derek walked to the office and stood in front of the secretary.  
"Yes?" she prompted.  
"I'm Derek Boltra. I'm here to register. I think I called yesterday, didn't I?"  
"Oh, yes, you've been expected... delinquent," she mumbled as she added him to the school database.  
"I'm sorry, what was that?" asked Derek, who had already caught what she had said.  
"Nothing, I'm sure. Now here's your schedule, and your uniform. You don't have to start today-"  
"Oh, but I want to," he interrupted with an ingratiating smile. "Don't worry. You won't see any... delinquent behavior out of me, ma'am." With a feral grin, he left.  
"Twenty-four year olds still in high school? What is this world coming to?" she asked herself.  
Ryou sighed,

"We better get inside before class starts. Don't want to be late for geography. You know what Miss Kasu does when someone's late." He bit his lip. He'd been late two weeks ago and Miss Kasu had kept him after class. He'd been late because he'd fallen asleep after a rather brutal night with Bakura and hadn't been able to set his alarmclock. Miss Kasu knew him well enough to know he was rarely late and she didn't quite believe his excuse of sleeping in.  
"Yeah, we don't need Miss. Kasu biting our heads off again," Joey confirmed as he raced off down the corridor.  
"He's right, see you guys later," Kara nodded as she took off down the corridor, dragging Ryou right along with her. Yugi and Tea shrugged and strode off to their own class, History first thing on Monday morning, what a pain.  
"Yugi," Tea shirped.  
"What's up Tea?" he asked curiously as he turned to face her.  
"Isn't it sweet how Kara and Ryou hold hands?" she whispered to him.  
"Sure I guess, but i'm sure Ryou only likes her as a friend," Yugi whispered back.  
"I don't know," Tea chimed as they walked into class.

Derek sidled up behind Yugi and Tea.

"Hello, Mr. Mutou. I'm Derek. I've always wanted to meet you, but I never got the chance to participate in any tournaments that you've been in." Yugi blinked.

"Oh, you play Duel Monsters?" Derek grinned.

"That's right. I win a lot, so I'm looking forward to dueling you." He consulted his schedule. "Apparently, we've got the same first period class. Cool." He had not even donned his uniform.  
  
The three got into class and Miss Kasu greated them with a nod. She glanced at Ryou for a moment taking in his choice of clothing. Ryou bit his tongue as he sat in his seat not daring to meet the teachers eye. He was sure she knew what was going on, at least partly. Kara grinned at him as she sat on her seat, which was next to his. She pulled her school supplies out of her bag, placed them on the table and proceeded to scribble her notes down as Miss. Kasu talked about the process of rock formations and the like. Kara now knew why she didn't like Geography, and didn't plan to take it up for any major classes for that matter if she had a choice. She turned her gaze to Ryou as Miss. Kasu turned to draw a diagram on the board, and became concernced when she saw sweat trickling in considerably large amounts down his face. Finding out her personal notebook with flower designs on the top right hand corner of it, she tore a page out and scribbled a note on it.  
  
_Ryou, you're going to dehydrate, take your sweater off.  
  
Kara _  
  
She folded the paper and flicked it onto his lap.

Ryou took the note and read it then sighed grabbing his pencil and quickly scibbling a note on it just as Miss Kasu turned her attention back to the class after writing something on the board. She glanced at him and shook her head, "After class Mr. Bakura." Ryou groaned under his breath. He was sure this was just an excuse to talk to him again. He was sure she was catching on and he really didn't want to have to answer any more of her questions and he certainly didn't want to have to explain the injuries all over his chest, back and arms. Kara bit her bottom lip, great she'd got Ryou into trouble. She was hesitant to say anything, but knowing Miss. Kasu would give him the third degree she couldn't let him go it alone.  
"Miss. Kasu," she called raising her hand just as the young teacher was about to explain her diagram.  
"Yes, Miss. Hiroshi," she said calmly.  
"Miss. Kasu, I was the one who sent him the note in the first place, I was just concerned because he looked a little warm that's all. Don't keep him back par my mistakes. I'll stay behind." Miss. Kasu looked somewhat shocked that Kara was actualy admitting to having given Ryou the note, it was rare any of her students admitted to causing something. Joey and Duke who sat behind them stared at her like she was out of her mind to admit it, as they'd seen her do it, but the look on Kara's face said she was willing to stay in Ryou's place despite what anyone said.

"Fine then, you'll both stay," Miss Kasu said then turned back to her diagram to continue her explanation. Ryou sighed with relief. She wouldn't ask him about his choice of clothing if Kara was around. Kara nodded to Miss. Kasu then turned to Ryou and winked at him, before turning her attention back to the board. Miss. Kasu was explaining why mountains became the shape that they did, and was placing marker arrows around the diagram.  
"Ok class, I want you to copy this diagram and add in all the points I have made. You may use two pages of your books if you wish, and you may need to." The class began to sketch the disgram out and label it, while Miss. Kasu went to sit at her desk and do some of her own work. Doing this diagram would take forever, or at least till the end of class anyway.  
  
Kara didn't mind how long it took, since she was staying behind anyway she'd most likely have finished it. She chanced a glance at Ryou; since she'd handed him her note he'd wiped his face on his sleeve, but he still didn't look any better. What was he hiding?  
"Kara you must be crazy," Duke hissed from behind her. "You weren't even seen."  
"I don't mind," Kara whispered back as she lowered her head and turned it so she looked like she was making her work better. Duke sighed and shook his head in disbelief.  
  
Meanwhile in their History class, Tea and Yugi who were sitting next to each other, were successfully talking to each other. It helped that their teacher Mr. Ziwani had left the room for a few minutes.  
"That new guy is pretty sure of himself isn't he?" Tea asked softly. "And obviously he doesn't know who he's dealing with."  
"We'll have to see Tea," Yugi smiled. "I'm sure it's just a friendly thing really."  
"I hope so. Hey, have you noticed Ryou's taste in clothing?" she asked. "I know he likes wearing his jacket and shirt the way he does, but the teachers have all said the guys can undo their jackets due to the heat wave we've suddenly had. So why hasn't he?"  
"I don't know Tea," Yugi responded. "He could make himself ill that's for sure, with dehydration and all." Tea nodded quietly, Yugi was right and no doubt someone else would probably have mentioned it to their white haired friend by now.  
  
The first class seemed to fly by for all the friends, Tea and Yugi didn't see their history teacher again that lesson and didn't know why and Tristan had pretty much gone through his Maths class quickly. Even the others Geography class went by, then again it always seemed to with Miss. Kasu and the amount of work she gave in class. Kara had finished her diagram before adding her words, occassionally looking at Ryou, wandering why Miss. Kasu wanted to hold him back. It was only an innocent note, not like they were talking or anything.  
"Ok class," Miss Kasu called as the bell rang. "Hurry onto your next class now, apart from Miss. Hiroshi and Mr. Bakura you stay behind for a few minutes."  
"Have fun," Joet grinned as he and Duke walked past them.  
"Thanks," Kara hissed back as she closed her book.

Derek tapped his pen impatiently. He had finished the "short math exam" 10 minutes ago. If he had known high school would have been this easy, he might have actually attended... except for the fact that he was always traveling, with not enough time to spare in any town for school. He noticed that every other student was giving him a wide berth. News of his "delinquency" must have gotten around. 'Oh well' he thought. 'At least I'll have my space...' Derek hated double periods. He rolled his eyes, then the bell rang, signifying third period for most, but not his class. The stupid teacher wouldn't even let him out, even after he showed him he was done! And it wasn't like he hadn't done a neat job.  
  
Suddenly, he saw Yugi and Tea at his door, and he waved at them. Startled, they waved back. Instantly Mr. Kobe shouted,

"Keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Boltra!" Derek glared at him with such intensity that he wilted, and moved behind a chair, it seemed, for his own protection, before turning it around and sitting in it frightenedly. Derek smiled a smile of satisfaction.  
Ryou sat quietly as the other students walked out to second period. Miss Kasu was busy clearing off the board and hadn't yet said anything to them but Ryou was still nervous. He was glad his dark half had decided to stay home that day. He knew Yami Bakura would have done something terrible if he thought their secret was out and someone was going to try and stop him.  
Tea allowed a disgruntled and disgusted look to cross her face, as she turned away and dragged Yugi towards their English class. At least then they could talk to the others and pass notes, as the teacher Mrs. Kayani was pretty cool and didn't say anything about it.  
"I don't like him Yugi," Tea hissed at him as they walked into their second class room of the day. Yugi didn't seem to mind him, but then again he tried never to judge a book by it's cover as best he could.  
  
The two sat down just as Tristan sauntered into the room; grinning at them he sat down behind Tea and placed his books on his desk. Joey and Duke weren't far behind them, and while Joey sat himself down behind Yugi, Duke sat in front of Tea. She suddenly looked around as Mrs. Kayani walked into the room, and asked them to get out their reading books while she went back to the teachers lounge to find hers.  
"Shakespear, man I hate this," Joey moaned as he pulled out his copy of Romeo and Juliet."  
"I kind of like it," Yugi told him as he found his own copy from his bag. The others smirked and shook their heads.  
"Hey, where are Kara and Ryou?" Tea asked when she'd gone. She glanced over at the two empty seats two rows to her left, to see that they were still unoccupied.  
"Miss. Kasu kept them after class," Joey responded. "For passing notes of all things. I swear she's so uncool. Kara was only worried about Ryou, that's all." The others groaned, Miss. Kasu was evil for keeping people behind for no reason whatsoever, and passing notes was hardly an offence.  
  
Miss. Kasu didn't have a class next lesson as she had a free period break, and what a time on Monday morning. Kara had since put her things away and was casually leaning against her desk, with her bag slung casually over her shoulder. Miss. Kasu sighed as she walked over and stood in front of them.  
"Miss. Hiroshi, why were you passing notes in class?"  
"I do apologise Miss. Kasu," Kara responded as she cast a glance at Ryou. "But I was worried about Ryou that's all. It's really warm, and he was perspiring. I guess I didn't want him getting dehydrated or something."  
"I guess your cause for concern is a good enough answer," Miss. Kasu told her.  
  
Truthfully she wanted to know why Ryou was wearing his clothes like he was, especially with it being so hot and having Kara hanging around wouldn't get her answers, as from her answers she didn't know. Strange seeing as how the two were very close friends.  
"Ok Miss. Hiroshi, you may go I have no further need to keep you here." Kara looked at Ryou with an 'I tried' look, and left the class room.  
"See you in English Ryou," she chimed before pulling the door to slightly. Yet she ambled a bit down the corridor, not really being in a hurry as Mrs. Kayani would understand her lateness, although truly she was just waiting for Ryou. Ryou's gaze fell to the desk as Miss Kasu eyed him. He'd hoped that she wouldn't say anything but he hadn't thought about her dismissing Kara before him. He had his hands under his desk and hadn't yet noticed that he was digging the nails of one hand into the wrist of the other. This day really wasn't going so well.  
  
Miss. Kasu sighed as she leant back on her one leg, looking Ryou's attire over.  
"Mr. Bakura, would you care to explain why you are wearing a long sleeved shirt and a buttoned up jacket in school?" she asked firmly. "The principal said the rules were slackened for the heatwave, so you can wear short sleevs and unbutton your jacket you know."

"I don't feel like it ma'am. I'm fine really," he said nervously. He could feel the teachers gaze on him but he dared not look up. He was probably giving himself away like this but he just couldn't calm his nerves. He was sure she knew what was going on. Miss. Kasu sighed, she was not going to get anywhere with this so with a shake of her head she turned around and headed to her desk.  
"Ok Mr. Bakura you may go to your next class, but I urge you, if something's wrong talk to someone. Kara seems perfect for the job, so think about it." Turning on her heal, Miss Kasu left the classroom with Ryou still there.  
  
Kara who'd been hiding near the lockers watched her leave, she hadn't taken THAT long and she thought she would have. Walking back to the room, she stepped around it and looked at Ryou, who was still leaning by his desk.  
"Ryou, we do have class," she called as she looked at his pale face.

"Hey are you all right?" Her concern was obvious.

She knew but she didn't say anything. It was clear that she knew by her actions and her words. He bit his lip glad that she hadn't pried the truth out of him. She probably wouldn't believe the truth anyway. 'I have this egyptian spirit and he likes to kick the shit out of me,' wouldn't have gone off well with her. He sighed as he placed his books in his back. He heard Kara walk in an stiffened. She hadn't heard anything had she? He hoped not. She sounded worried though. He was so lost in his thoughts he hadn't even heard what she'd said. He only heard the worry in her voice. He plastered a fake smile on his face as he stood up slinging his bookbag over his shoulder,

"Lets go."  
Kara sighed as she walked with him to English class, they were only about ten minutes later and when they entered the room they found the teacher hadn't come back yet.  
"Where's Mrs. Kayani?" Kara asked as she and Ryou sat down.  
"Looking for her Romeo and Juliet text," Tea responded. "How'd it go with Miss. Kasu?"  
"She let me go without problem," Kara responded, and got a strange look off Joey and Duke, but she simply shrugged.  
"How about you Ryou?" Yugi asked. As he spoke Yami's spirit form appeared at his side, watching the white haired hikari carefully.

"Same pretty much. Just asked the same silly question you guys did when got here today," he shrugged and opened his bag busying himself with grabbing his books and supplies for class. He really didn't want to dwell on it. The sooner this day ended the better. He'd been living one day at a time since Bakura had started his daily torture and couldn't wait for each day to pass by. He knew right well what would happen when he got home but he didn't care. He just wanted to get away from the stares of his friends and classmate and teachers before someone else caught on to what was going on.  
Five minutes later, Mrs. Kayani hadn't come back to class and the kids were so bored they started playing paper football in the classroom.  
"Think she got lost?" asked Tea as she leant on her arm.  
"No, she's probably still looking for her book," Tristan groaned as he lay on his desk. "Jokes on her though, it's been under her desk this whole time." The others snickered, even Yugi couldn't help but giggle a little. But he soon turned his attention to Yami, who he'd seen appear out of the corner of his eye. His sharp crimson eyes were glued on Ryou, and Yugi was curious as to why.  
[Yami, what's the matter?] he asked curiously.  
{Ryou is hurting} Yami responded softly. {Not physically, but his heart is in pain. I can just feel it, the vibes are strong despite his efforts to hide them}  
[You think Bakura's been threatening him again?]  
{It's a high possibility, yes} Yugi sighed, Ryou was hiding something all right but how could he find out without Ryou knowing? Then it struck him, Kara's Millennium Item could find things, maybe it could find out Ryou's reasons for being so quiet. Getting up he made his way to Kara's desk, and grabbing her wrist with his small hand, dragged her to the other side of the room.  
"Yugi, what's wrong?" she asked.  
"Can you use your necklace to find something for me?" he asked. "Like Ryou's secrets?"  
"I won't use my necklace to pry into Ryou's personal life Yugi," she said in shock.  
"Kara this is important, Yami thinks Bakura's threatening him and I want to know to help." Kara gazed into Yugi's bright amethyst eyes, and with a sigh she turned around and raised her hands around her necklace. Closing her eyes she fell into it's power and began searching, her second sight slowly flowing around Ryou's mind. She so hoped he wouldn't notice this.  
  
Bakura was behind it all right, and when she Ryou's reasons her eyes snapped open in alarm.  
"What is it?" Yugi asked.  
"Bakura, he found a way to get his own body and he's hurting Ryou physically, that's what he's hiding and what I found."  
"Physical abuse you mean?" Yugi whispered back and Kara nodded.  
{That...that...cruel monster} Yami growled mentally. {First he threatens Ryou, takes over his body without being allowed to and now he's hurting him. I have half a mind to mind crush him}  
[I don't think that'll help] Yugi sighed as he stared at Ryou, he and Kara were going to have to check this out for themselves, somehow.

Ryou tensed as Yugi and Kara walked to the back of the room together. He could feel their eyes on him and he closed his own eyes tightly. He wasn't sure how much more of this day he could take. He just wanted to go home and collapse on his bed and sleep for eternity. He clenched his fists all of a sudden and got up walking towards the door. Why bother staying, it wasn't like the teacher was around anyway. He walked out quickly knowing the others would probably follow but he didn't care. He needed to get out of there and he needed to get out of there now.  
Yugi and the others watched him go and knowing Kara would have better luck being his best friend, Yugi nudged her and motioned for her to go after him.  
"Look after my things," she told Yugi as she skipped around the desks and went out of the door. Making sure she was safe to do so, she walked quickly through the corridors looking for Ryou. Where had he gone to in such a short time? As she rounded a corridor, she bumped right into Mrs. Kayani.  
"Kara dear," she smiled. "Where are you off to in such a hurry? We have got class."  
"I know Miss," she stammered as she thought up a reason for her movements quickly. "Ryou left class looking a little offish, so I came to see if he's all right, if I can find him."  
"Ok your worry is a good enough reason to be out here. Come back as soon as you can."  
"Yes Miss, thank you," Kara smiled, thinking how cool her English teacher was. "Oh and your book is under your desk!" Mrs. Kayani didn't catch on till after Kara had gone, and smiled.  
  
Kara was out in the school courtyard by the time she found Ryou. He was sitting on the lower bleachers of the schools football field, head resting in his hands. She approached quietly and sat at his side, before tentatively resting her hand on his arm.  
"Ryou," she said softly. "Bakura's been hurting you hasn't he?" Ryou tensed at the question and closed his eyes tightly. She knew and Yugi must know too. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to answer her, he just wanted to dissapear completely. He knew Yami Yugi would probably try to do something which would only make his own Yami angrier. He knew they only meant well but if they tried anything he was sure it would only make things worse. Kara was growing tired of Ryou hiding this whole thing, it was now as plain as day. Narrowing her semi-sharp emerald green eyes she reached out and took hold of his one arm, despite his objections. She pushed his sleeve up and her eyes widened when she saw the scrapes and brusies on it, her heart almost leapt into her throat when she saw what Bakura had already done.  
"Ryou," she whispered. "Why didn't you say anything? I'm your best friend you could've come to me. Don't give me that silent act either or the 'it's nothing' act cause I won't buy it, not this time."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to know," he said quietly as he lifted his head but looked the other way. He couldn't meet her eyes. He knew they'd either be filled with anger for lying to her or filled with pity which was the last thing he wanted. He pulled his arm out of her grasp and crossed his arms protectively. He felt a tear slide down his cheek and roughly wiped it away. Now he really wanted to go home. Kara felt sympathy towards him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders comfortingly and rested her head on his shoulder.  
"Ryou, you should know that it doesn't matter to me. I'm your friend and you can always ask for some help. Despite popular belief you're not alone." She rubbed his arm comfortingly, and reached up to hand him her handkerchief as she saw more tears threatening to leave his eyes.  
"Just trust me, ok." He nodded slightly taking the hankerchief and quickly wiped his eyes and mumbled, "I'm afraid. If you try anything he might hurt you. So please just stay away from him. Promise me you'll stay away from him Kara." He turned to look at her with pleading eyes. His head was starting to spin but he ignored it. Kara looked back into Ryou's pleading eyes, they were so soulful how could she not listen to him? She could protect herself with the Millennium Crescent, but Bakura's magic was more powerful than hers right now. With a sigh she rubbed her eyes.  
"Ok Ryou i'll stay away from him, but I doubt you'll talk Yami into that as well." Seeing his face pale even more, and watching his eyes seem to glass over slightly her thoughts turned to worry.  
"Ryou, what's wrong are you feeling ok?"

"Ahh, finally, outta class." Derek walked out onto the grounds, stretching his arms as he did. He had a bruise on his cheek from a small skirmish with a few juniors who had surrounded him back in the hallway. Well, maybe now they'll leave me alone, he thought. He had taught them a valuable (but painful) lesson. It had been the sounds of the steps of the principal around the corner that had stopped him from just slaughtering them outright. I mean, they have no right to be jumping on people like that, he thought ruefully. He rubbed his arm as he headed into the courtyard for some fresh air. Turning the corner and wondering what time it was (he had misplaced his watch somewhere), he turned the corner and came face-to-face with Ryou and Kara.  
"Oops, sorry. I seem to be interrupting a private moment. I'll just, um, leave now..." Ryou sighed and resisted the urge to glare at Derek and turned to look the other way instead so the other boy wouldn't see him crying. He felt so weak. Weak just like Bakura had always said he was. He knew the spirit was right. He never stood up for himself and just let people walk all over him.  
Derek watched Ryou turn around with a puzzled expression on his face. Then he saw the bruises and cuts on his arm and immediately felt sorry for the white-haired youth.  
"Look man, if someone's messing with you, I can help. You sure you're okay?" he asked in reply to Ryou's shaking of the head.  
"I'm not trying to freak you out or rip off your money or anything," he added, interpreting Ryou's feelings as pain, misery, and a portion of fear.  
"I don't even know you. Why in the world would you want to help me?" he mumbled to Derek then seemed to clench the bench he was sitting on. The heat was getting to him,

"I'm not feeling very good. I think I'm just going to go home." He knew Kara would say something about this because they both knew who was waiting for him at home.  
"Ryou..." Kara began then stopped. She couldn't stop him from doing this, but he was in bad shape, and added to that the heat was obviously getting to him. He looked close to fainting there and then, and as he stood up he stumbled. Kara was quick to react and leant him her arm and side for support.  
"Ryou, I think you're beyond not feeling very good," she told him.

"Hold on," said Derek. He pulled an ancient looking book from his bag with a golden cover and the Eye of Ra smack dab in the middle. He flipped through it quickly, and when he stopped, it began glowing.  
  
"Aha. I thought so," he murmured to himself. He then flipped to another page and held it out to Ryou. "You have one of these old things too, don't you? Use this. It'll get you home in a hurry. You can give it back to me some other time. Go! Before you faint!" he said, thrusting it into Ryou's arms.

"And don't ask any questions until you're better!" he snapped.  
Ryou closed his eyes for a second and nodded to Derek and he held the book not really sure how to use it. His head was spinning and his legs felt like they could give way any minute now. He bit his lip, this would be the worst place for him to faint. He didn't need the school nurse finding out about his injuries but his legs didn't feel like holding him up anymore and he collapsed into Kara. A second later his vision went fuzzy and then... nothing.  
"Ryou!" Kara explaimed as she lowered him to the seats beside them. His head lay on her shoulder, as sweat trickled down his face. She pulled her handkerchief form his hand and wiped his face hurriedly, before undoing his jacket.  
"Ryou, come on," she pleaded softly. "Come on. I swear Bakura is so going to get it." She turned her gaze to Derek, eye emerald green eyes flashing.  
"I have no idea who you are," she snapped at him. "But go and get the nurse, and Yugi Mutou. He's in English class B if you need to know." Having said that she turned her attention back to her unconscious classmate.  
  
Yugi wouldn't need telling though, for as he sat in his class listening to Mrs. Kayani talk on about the fight scene in Romeo and Juliet, he felt something tug at his chest and the puzzle shimmered slightly.  
"Ryou," he whispered, as sudden concern for his friend washed over him.

Derek shrugged, took the book back, mumbled something under his breath and blinked out of existence in a flash of gold, much to Kara's surprise. He reappeared in front of the nurse's office with the same flash, and strolled in.  
"Excuse me, but... um," and even now he wondered why he didn't know Ryou's name. "Um, a student just fainted in the courtyard. I think he overheated." The nurse promptly rushed out without a word and ran toward the courtyard.  
  
Derek then sped through the halls. "English Class B, Class B, aha!" He knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for a reply.

"The nurse needs to see Mr. Mutou right now," he lied, hoping that the teacher would buy it. She smiled, and said, "Why of course. Yugi, you may leave, but try to come back before class ends."  
"Yes Ms. Kayani," Yugi replied. In the hallway, Derek suddenly stopped him and said, "Yugi, a friend of yours just passed out in the courtyard and the girl with him told me to get you. Hurry."  
"What did he look like?" asked Yugi swiftly.  
"White hair, pale complexion-" Derek started. Yugi changed into Yami and quickly rushed off with a glare. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Is it me, or does everyone seem to hate me?"  
As Yami ran into the courtyard and looked around, his eyes fell on the bleachers. The nurse was with Kara and Ryou at the time as he hurriedly ran over in their direction, worry plastered all over his face. Ryou's body was lying limply against Kara's side as the nurse examined him. His jacket was lying over Kara's lap and his shirt sleeves were pushed up in an effort to cool him down, and the marks there were awful to look at.  
"How'd he get these?" the nurse demanded as Kara supported her friend against her.  
"He said he'd been in a bit of a fight," she told her, she wasn't about to say an egyptian spirit was physically abusing him, the nurse would think she was mad. The nurse sighed, she couldn't believe that Ryou would EVER get into a fight.  
"Kara how is he?" asked Yami. Kara now able to see the changes in Yugi's appearance when they switched, turned to acknowledge him.  
"He's out cold," she responded. She'd barely finished speaking when Ryou's eyelids fluttered open, and he stared quietly at the three people staring down at him. He tried to get up quickly wincing at his headache and groaned. He lied back down and quickly moved his hands to pull down his shirt sleeves to hide the marks. He glanced at the nurse then looked away over at Yami.  
Yami stared back at him evenly, the look in his eyes practically impassive. The nurse frowned in response to Ryou's quick actions, as he lay suppoted against Kara's side.  
"Really Mr. Bakura," she stated calmly. "You shouldn't get into fights." Seeing his confused gaze, Kara hurriedly explained what she'd told the nurse and the look of relief that passed over his face, was plainly obvious. The nurse finished looking him over, and smiled at him.  
"I'll write you a sick note and send you home," she told him. "You're not well enough to stay at school. Is your father around? Then he can pick you up." Seeing him shake his head slowly the nurse sighed.  
"Is there anyone who can pick you up? Because I can't allow you to go home and stay there alone, not till you're feeling better." Kara hurriedly stepped in at this point, she wasn't about to let Bakura come and get him while he was in this state.  
"I'll take him home Miss. Blake," she offered. "Although my parents aren't home all day."  
"You can take him to mine then," Yami told her. "My grandpa's always there, he can take care of him till later."  
"I guess that's acceptable," Miss. Blake nodded. "Ok i'll write you a pass card Kara and you can go, but be back at school as soon as you've dropped him off ok." Kara nodded in response as the nurse went to get the pass cards for them.  
"Yami," she said softly when she was gone. "Can you go and retrive our bags and let Mrs. Kayani know please and Mr. Tanrio?"  
"Sure," Yami nodded as he left to retrive their bags.  
[Do you think Ryou will be all right?] Yugi asked as Yami strolled back towards their English class.  
{If he stays with your grandfather he should be fine till later} Yami nodded.

"Thanks," Ryou muttered as he slowly sat up, "Guess I kind of blew it." He sighed and bit his lip,

'I hope Yugi's grandfather doesn't mind me staying there for a while. I wouldn't want to be any trouble' he thought. He didn't want to trouble Mr. Mutou but he also didn't want to go home with Bakura waiting there for him. Kara smiled at him warmly.  
"I don't think he'll mind Ryou, Yugi's grandpa is really nice. Besides, we just have to wait for Yami and the nurse to get back."  
  
Yami and the nurse both arrived back at the same time, the nurse carrying a green medical note for Ryou and a yellow pass for Kara and Yami carrying their bags, well it was actually Yugi as they'd switched back. Kara accepted there bags and spoke a quiet word with Yugi, while Miss. Blake gave Ryou his sick note. Seeing Ryou was ready, Kara offered him a supporting arm, after she'd levered her bag onto her shoulder and taken his bookcase from Yugi.  
"Here's your pass note Miss. Hiroshi," Miss. Blake called. "You'll need it."  
"Thanks," Kara smiled. "I'll see you later Yugi. Come on Ryou, let's go." Ryou smiled slightly and turned for a second nodding a thank you to Yugi and the nurse before following Kara in the direction of the turtle gameshop where Yugi and his grandfather lived. He was feeling a bit better but his head was still spinning enough that he had to watch himself. He was a bit dissapointed that he wouldn't be able to get out of his warm clothing for fear of Yugi's grandpa seeing the cuts and bruises that speckled his body.  
Kara supported the white-haired hikari all the way to the turtle gameshop, of course they had to catch the bus, but hey small price to pay to avoid a long walk. Luckily they had bus travel passes. Ryou was quiet all the way there and Kara thought about asking him what was bothering him so much, but she held back. She didn't want to crowd him if it wasn't necessary, but she did hold onto his hand for support.  
  
Stepping off the bus just around the corner from the Turtle gameshop, she walked him around the street, still supportingly holding his hand. As she pushed the door open, the bell above it tinkled merrily causing Yugi's grandpa to look up from behind the counter.  
"Oh hello Kara, Ryou," he stated brightly. "You're out of school early."  
"Hello Mr. Mutou," Kara smiled as Ryou nodded to him. "Actually i'm due to head back, but Ryou isn't feeling too well so he was sent home. His dad isn't back yet, so Yugi said he could come here. Is that ok?"  
"Of course it is," the old man said with a bright smile. "And you do look a bit worse for wear Ryou, you want to sit in the living room or go and sleep in the guest room for a while?"

"I wouldn't mind taking a rest," Ryou admitted. The day had really taken alot out of him and he felt like he could sleep forever if given the chance. He was sure if he'd tried to get here on his own he'd have probably collapsed somewhere inbetween. He was glad that Kara was with him and would have liked her to stay but he knew she had to get home. He smiled weakly and turned to Kara, "Thanks for getting me here but you better get back before you get into any trouble."  
He was glad that he had Kara, Yugi and Yami to help him now. He supposed it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He was glad they knew now though he was worried about what Bakura would do when he found out which he no doubt would. The tombrobber had a tendency to go through Ryou's thoughts and memories without permission like they were his own which he believed they were. A feeling of dread washed over him. He'd have to go home sometime and then he'd know. He'd know it all and he'd be furious. Yugi's grandfather nodded and motioned to the door behind him.  
"Just go through there and up the stairs," he told them. "The guest room's second to the left." With a nod Kara helped Ryou through the door and up the stairs. She pushed the second door to the left open and stepped into a rather spacious room, lightly decorated with a bed, a table and a chair in it. When he was sitting down on the bed, she placed his bag at the foot of it.  
"I'll get going then," she told him in a whisper. "I'll see you later and try and get some sleep. And at least take your jacket off, i'm sure Mr. Mutou won't disturb you while you're sleeping." Momentarily hugging him, Kara turned on her heal and left him to rest as she shut the door.  
  
She sighed as she headed down the stairs, Bakura could be such a jerk. If she hadn't promised Ryou, she'd have gone and given Bakura a piece of her mind and a hearty slap as well. Saying a quick goodbye to Mr. Mutou, Kara left the gameshop and headed back to the bus stop. The bus came not long later and took her back to school. Once there she stepped off and headed into the back into the building.  
  
By the time she got there it was the end of third class, so she showed her pass to the secretary who took it and headed for lunch just as the bell rang.

By this time, Ryou had fallen into a dreamless asleep, his coat drapped over the chair which sat beside the bed. He felt better but was still extremely exhausted. It had been a while since he'd slept soundly and his body was thankful.  
Kara sat alone at the table she usually sat at with Ryou when they didn't bother going outside to eat lunch, and was sitting in the shadiest area. Seeing her as they entered the lunch room, Yugi and the others went to join her.  
"May we join you?" asked Yugi politely.  
"Huh?" Kara asked not having noticed them. "Oh sure." The five sat down, and began to eat their own lunches, and half way through it Tristan and Joey began to fight over a trade of an egg sandwich for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yugi sweatdropped, while Duke tried to referee the whole thing. Tea and Kara's faces dropped to the floor in response to the cause of the argument.  
"Of all the stupid things to fight over," Tea muttered as she took a bite out of her salad sandwich.  
  
Kara was quiet as she chewed thoughtfully on her cheese sandwich, she was worried about Ryou mostly and that he'd have to face Bakura sooner or later. She was beginning to wish she hadn't promised to stay away from him, she'd been trying to talk to him herself every now and again and now she was considering walking up to him and giving him the hardest slap and telling off she could. Now because he was real, that would make it a whole lot easier.  
"Kara," Yugi called snapping her out of her thoughts. "How's Ryou doing?"  
"Oh, I left him at your grandpa's," Kara responded as she took another bite out of her lunch. "He's probably resting right now."  
Meanwhile, back at Ryou's house, Bakura paced around. Something didn't feel right. From this far he could only sense his hikari's emotions which were rather strange that day. He kept having random emotions from his normal depressed emotions, happiness, fear, guilt and relief. He'd sensed alot of fear from his light half and had first thought that maybe someone had beat him up but these emotions wheren't the kind he got when he was being beaten. He sighed to himself and growled. He'd find out when his hikari got home, one way or another.  
Kara and Yugi both felt the strange wave of anger as the eyes on their millennium items shimmered gold, it couldn't have been Ryou, it had to be Bakura. Both the two looked at each other, as Yami's spirit form appeared at Yugi's side, sitting on the end of the tables sitting bench, his eyes set in a narrowed glare. Kara didn't know what it was like to have a Yami, as her necklace didn't have one, luckily. That was something Kara was grateful for, that she didn't have a darker half. She didn't know how Yugi and Ryou did it, sharing their bodies with another soul well at least Yugi was still doing that.  
"Yugi, do you ever feel weird with Yami around?" she asked in a soft whisper.  
"I did at first," Yugi admitted. "But after a while it just seemed to fit. I don't know how i'd feel if I had to go back to being a person without his Yami, although i'm sure Ryou would love it."  
"I can't even begin to imagin how it feels," Kara told him. "Honestly I can't."

* * *

R&R if you want to know what happens in part 2 of this two part chapter. 


	4. Healing Heart

Disclaimer: Same as on other pages. Although Jaesai does own Derek Boltra, and i'm posting with his knowledge of course. So don't take his character either.

Special notice: Thanks again to BMK and Jaesai.

* * *

It hadn't even been a day since Kara, Yugi and Yami had found out about the terrible secret that Ryou had been keeping for about two months. Ryou had been wearing long sleeved shirts and long jeans to cover up said secret. The secret being that Bakura, his darker half, was beating him. They'd been shocked but put the shock aside in order to help him. He'd made Kara promise not to go near Bakura but he hadn't yet been able to make his friend Yugi and Yugi's Yami promise the same thing.  
  
He was currently resting at Yugi's house with his grandfather while the others were still in school. He'd woken up only minutes ago and felt more refreshed then he had in a long time. He glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. 4:00, the others would be back any minute now. He sighed as he sat up and turned himself so that his legs were dangling over the edge of the bed. He stayed there for a minute or two before standing and grabbing his coat, which he'd left on the nearby chair. He calmly put the coat on and did up the buttons before grabbing his bookbag and heading downstairs to wait in the livingroom for Yugi and Kara to get back. No doubt they'd bring Joey, Tea and Tristan along. Ryou just prayed that they hadn't told the three what had happened. Joey and Tristan would probably attack Bakura no matter what he said and Tea would be overprotective and motherly as usual. He didn't mind the other two millennium item holders knowing but he didn't want anyone else to know if it could be avoided.

He was right for only twenty or so minutes later, he heard the bell above the game shop door ring and familiar voices laughing. Two were light and female, and three were deeper and male.  
"Anyways," he heard a voice comment as the five stopped obviously to change out of their outdoor shoes to their indoor ones. "This guy tells the other that he's going to beat him in his next turn, hoping to draw this next card. He needs a monster with at least fifteen hundred attack points and he draws his weakest monster, the Petite Dragon." That had to be Joey saying that, and the others laughed.  
"Are you sure that wasn't you Joey?" asked Tristan as they walked into the living room.  
"No ya moron," Joey growled. "It wasn't me."  
"Hey Ryou," Yugi chimed seeing his friend turn to look at them. "Did you sleep well?" He smiled at him and sat down beside him as Kara perched herself on her the easy chair to his other side.

"Yes, I did. Thank you for letting me stay here," Ryou said glancing at the other three. It was clear to him that they hadn't yet been told his secret. He felt releaved and smiled at them slightly. He thought about heading home before Bakura got angry but decided that he liked it much better here with those who cared about him.  
"Did anyone happen to collect my homework or anything from the classes I missed?" he asked calmly. He'd always been a good student and homework help to keep his mind off of Bakura and his troubled homelife. Kara grinned and disappeared for a moment, only to appear with a booklet of paper. She walked over and settled it on his lap.  
"Our coursework for Science," she told him. "You'll be pleased with the result."  
"Oh and Mrs. Kayani wants us to read the next section of Romeo and Juliet in our books," Yugi told him. "That's about it really."  
"Yeah," Joey laughed. "Our home economics teacher locked her work in the car along with her keys, so we had a free period and in art class there was such a fuss over what we could do that the teacher just said do what you want and left us to it."  
"Yeah, explains why you have blue streaks in your hair," Tristan smirked as he pulled some dried paint out of Joey's sandy blonde hair. Ryou chuckled slightly glancing at Joey's hair and shoot his head, "You're supposed to put the pain on paper not in your hair," he then glanced at Yugi and Kara smiling, "Thanks, I'll get to all that as soon as I get home I guess."  
  
(Meanwhile)  
  
Bakura paced the room waiting for Ryou to get home. He was already a half hour late and he didn't like it. Ryou knew to come home right away after school, what was taking him so long. The ancient egyptian spirit growled as he headed for the phone.  
"Probably went to that pathetic excuse for a pharaoh's house," He stated as he grabbed the phone and roughly dialed the Kame Game Shop. Ryou would get it if he was there. He knew the rules. He agreed to let his hikari hang around with that lot at school but out of school Ryou was his.

Ryou was actually sitting with Kara leaning over beside him, looking over their A graded science coursework. Kara had been right, he was pleased with the work they'd done. The teacher had been to, especially to have given it an A.  
"I think your writing got half of the mark," Kara told him as she motioned to several detailed notes on the biology area. While they talked, Yugi and the others were busy laughing at the funny sight that had been their home economics teacher trying to open her car door. Yami was watching Ryou quietly in his spirit form, as he sat on the arm of the sofa.  
{Yugi} he called interrupting his hikari mid laugh. {I think Ryou's worried about going home later}  
[Wouldn't you be if you were him and Bakura was beating up on you?] Yugi countered turning his attention to him.  
{True I would, but this is simply wrong, Ryou shouldn't have to put up with this}  
[It's not his fault] Yugi responded. [Bakura's much stronger and has stronger shadow powers on his side than Ryou does. I guess he feels he has n choice]  
{Hmm}  
  
As they were talking, the phone rang in the shop and was answered after a couple of rings by Yugi's grandpa.  
"Kame Game Shop," he chimed politely. "Oh yes just a minute." Yugi's grandpa put the phone down and walked into the living room.  
"Ryou, someone's on the phone for you, I think it's your dad."

Derek had decided to cut the rest of the school day, just to reinforce his appearance as a delinquent. On his way out, he got into three more fights. One with the same bunch of juniors he had nearly killed earlier, out for revenge. He stuffed them into a few trash cans after he finished with them. The next one was with a kid who tried to mug him. He ended up hanging out the window. Lastly, Ushio and a few goons attacked him. He laid out the goons, but had a bit of a problem with Ushio. They fought for 10 minutes before Derek could knock him out after fainting. With his jacket over his shoulder, he walked around the neighborhood before deciding to work on his newest deck. He went around, asking about the nearest game shop. Everyone looked at him incredulously before pointing him to the Kame Game Shop. He walked in the door, and the first thing he noticed was that the old man behind the counter bore a strange resemblence to... but no... he couldn't be... Then, as if to confirm his doubts, Yugi came out to take the phone in (for Ryou).  
"Hey Yugi!" he called, walking closer to the counter.  
Yugi stopped momentarily to acknowledge the older boy with a nod, then disappeared into the back again to make sure Ryou got the phone.  
"Here you go Ryou," he whispered as he leant on the back of the chair and slid the hands free set into the white haired boys hand. "Although I doubt it's your dad." By then Yami and even Kara were on edge, and Yugi soon picked up on it. Ryou closed his eyes for a second as he held the phone. He slowly brought it up to his ear and quietly mumbled, "Yes?" He knew who was on the other line and he knew he was in trouble. He glanced up for a second and saw the confused looks on Joey, Tea and Tristan's faces. They didn't quite understand why their three friends seemed so nervous about a silly little phone call.  
-I suggest you get home now and quickly. I'll give you ten minutes and if you're not here by then... well... we'll deal with that if it comes up won't we?- The angry voice on the other end said with a slight growl. Ryou bit his lip stood up and dropped the phone on the couch. He grabbed his bag and headed towards the door,

"Bye." He brushed past Derek not even seeming to notice him, a look of fear on his face.

Tea, Joey and Tristan all stared at each other in shock as Yugi picked the phone up. He put it by his ear, but the line was dead so he hung it up. He gave Kara a worried look, when a thought struck her. She got up and dragged Yugi out of anyone elses hearing range.  
"Yugi," she whispered. "Ryou made me promise not to go near Bakura, but he didn't make you or Yami promise. Go after him."  
"I don't know if I should," Yugi argued softly.  
"Yugi, Ryou looked frightened out of his wits," Kara argued back. "Please for his sake." Yugi turned his head as Yami appeared in spirit form beside him, and he nodded his head to his hikari. Swallowing his own fear, Yugi allowed Yami to take over and his physical features changed immediately. Kara was now staring into Yami's sharp crimson eyes, as the former pharaoh stared back at her. Turning his attention to the door he strode past her and switched into the boots he and Yugi wore, before turning his attention back to her.  
"Kara, be on stand by if you're needed," he told her. "And keep the others on hand as well."  
"Ok," she responded as Yami strode out of the door. He walked past Derek without a second glance, just as Kara peered around the door.  
"Where have Ryou and Yugi gone in such a hurry?" asked Yugi's grandpa who was in the middle of serving Derek.  
"As of yet, I won't hazard a guess," Kara responded and went back to talk to the others.

Ryou ran down the street towards his house, his Yami's words still fresh in his mind. He could hear Yami's footsteps behind him but he ignored them and kept running. He knew well enough that it would be worse if he got there late.  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"You're late again. I told you to be home by 4 on school days," Yami Bakura growled to his young Hikari as he held him firmly again the wall by the collar of his shirt. Ryou whimpered slightly and clenched his eyes shut.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'll be faster tommorow I promise," he mumbled meekly, "It'll never happen again."  
  
"Oh you're right about that. This will 'never' happen again," Yami Bakura growled.  
  
[Flashback]  
  
All he remembered after that was waking up on the hallway floor with every part of his body hurting like it had never hurt before. His blood stained the carpet and he'd had to spend the rest of the night cleaning it up. Ryou winced at the memory as he turned a corner and continued to run.  
Yami slowed his pace a tad, not wanting to crowd Ryou. He'd make sure things were ok first although he was very sure that if Ryou didn't make it to his house he'd be in trouble. He'd got that just from seeing Ryou move so quikly earlier, and truth be told he was scared for Ryou. He didn't want to see a friend hurt, that would hurt him, Yugi, the others and especially Kara who was his best friend.  
[Yami] Yugi called softly. [Bakura's going to hurt him again, I can feel it in my heart]  
{I know Yugi, I know} Yami panted as he saw Ryou quickly walk up to his front door.

Ryou gasped for air as he fumbled with the doorknob and walked inside the house. The moment he got into the house he felt a pair of hands grab him and shove him against the wall. With a slight wince as his bruised back hit the wall he looked up at his angry dark half. Yami Bakura growled as he kicked the door closed and glared at his hikari,

"What were you doing at his house?! I told you to stay away from them. You're lucky I allow you to go near them durring school."

"I wasn't feeling well and I didn't want to bother you," Ryou murmured as he shook with fear. He knew Yami Bakura wouldn't care why. He just care that he had broken the rules. Ryou knew that Yami had followed and prayed for help just this once. He was tired of this though he was still afraid for his friends.  
  
Yami Bakura growled and grabbed Ryou's arm and flipped him over so that he was facing the wall and twisted his arm as far as he could. Ryou let out a scream of shock before bitting his tongue and clenching his eyes shut, tears dripping down his cheeks.  
  
"Does it hurt?" Yami Bakura smirked as he pushed Ryou's face into the wall with his other hand digging his nails into Ryou's scalp, "I can break it and it'll be over with if you like. Crying again? Weak little coward. You dissobayed orders and now you have to face the concequences."  
Yami frowned as he saw the door slam shut, he didn't like that one bit. How could he get a message to Kara from here? Yugi never carried a cell phone with him like Tea did, wait the Millennium Items were linked if he could somhoe contact her that way. Closing his eyes he sent a message through the power of the millennium items, hoping Kara would understand. It had been near enought six months so she do.  
  
Meanwhile, Kara had explained everything to the others, and as expected Joey and Tristan were furious and Tea was worried sick. She was the first one to notice Kara's necklace glowing, and pointed it out to her. Closing her eyes, Kara felt Yami's and Yugi's increased concern and without a second thought she left the room with the other three teens close behind her. All of them changed into their outdoor shoes and took off towards Ryou's house, saying a hurried goodbye to Yugi's grandpa and a quick hello and goodbye to Derek before disappearing out the door like wisps.

Yami was glaring at Ryou's houses front door as he waited for Kara to turn up with Tea, Joey and Tristan. That was if she got his call that is, and when he saw her running down the street with Joey literally on hot on her heals he walked over to the door. The four were soon there, and Yami tried the door but the slam must've jammed it.  
{No!} he yelled harsly making Yugi's spirit form jump. {It's stuck}  
"Yug' what's wrong?" asked Joey.  
"The door's stuck," Yami growled as he threw his weight against it.  
"Hang in there pal," Joey called as he walked up. "Two d'is better d'an one." They both began to throw their weight against the door, whilst Tea, Kara and Tristan looked on worriedly. 

Yami Bakura growled glancing over to the door. Ryou's ears were ringing and he couldn't hear but he could feel his darkhalf let up a little for a moment before twisting him around, grabbing his wrist and glaring at his hikari, "Tell them to go away." He growled and Ryou nodded wipping his face. He could hear them banging at the door and didn't think it would be a good idea to open it. Instead he walked into the livingroom, took a deep calming breath and opened the window and glancing out at them,

"Umm, I don't think it's a good idea to break the door down." It was all he could think of at that moment. He took another deep breath,

"What are you doing here?" he asked trying to sound confused. It was Kara who answered him, as Yami and Joey continued to try and get the door open.  
"Ryou," she responded softly, hoping that her voices tone would make him undertsand. "We know what Bakura's doing and you know it, please, let us help. Please." She looked up at him pleadingly, her eyes going wide even for her as they were normally quite narrow. Kara wasn't stupid, she'd seen this coming just as Yugi had. Ryou was about to refuse again when Yami, who'd grown tired of trying to knock the door open stepped backwards and pushed Joey behind him. Yugi's spirit form sensed what he was going to do, and hid hurriedly behind his spirit friend. Yami raised his hand, and with a small burst of shadow magic the door came open relatively easily. Yami Bakura growled as he stood behind Ryou in the shadows. Ryou tensed as the door was thrown open and bit his lip. He was about to run for it when he felt Bakura grab him from behind and drag him to is knees. He winced nervously as Bakura put his dagger to his hikari's throat,

"Lets see how the pharaoh deals with this."

Derek, after buying a good number of packs, finally got what he wanted. "Finally," he mumbled. He felt stupid standing there all afternoon buying a stack of packs. He now had another couple hundred or so commons, and he was not interested in bringing them home.  
"Do you want to keep these?" he asked Sugoroku hopefully. Grandpa shook his head, laughing. "I have enough of those as it is." Derek groaned. He looked around, then noticed that everyone was gone. "Hey, where'd everyone go?"  
"Everyone went to accompany Ryou home."  
"Is Ryou the white-haired one? The one who fainted earlier?"  
"Yes. I wonder why he's so hurt." Sugoroku said musingly, but he looked up to find the door swinging shut. "Young people have no patience," he said to himself as he put the money Derek had left away.

Yami stopped and stared at Bakura in horror as Bakura placed the edge of the blade against Ryou's throat, so it was within centimeters of his skin. He wouldn't be able to do anything in time if Bakura was going to use the knife, and Ryou would be in trouble.  
"Bakura," he growled viciously. "You release him right now!" He heard a gasp as Kara and the others appeared behind him, and glanced back at their horrified faces.  
"I mean it Bakura," he warned. "You even dare that action and you'll be banished to the shadow realm faster than you can blink." Kara watched all this with quiet concern, and her eyes fellow onto Ryou's. They were filled with terror, and she wished she could do something to get him away from Bakura, but what could she do?

"Get out," Yami Bakura growled, "We all know what happens if he dies. I go with him but if I have to I will kill him. Now get out." As a warning that he was serious he brought the dagger down and sliced through Ryou's clothing and into his upper arm. Ryou yelped and tried to pull away, sobbing uncontrollably.  
There's too much energy around those people, thought Derek as he trudged through the streets, following the trail of Millennium Energy, detected by his Millennium Book  
  
'Its like the same energy coming from this book' he thought interestedly.

"Maybe there's a connection...?" he thought aloud.  
  
All too soon he reached Ryou's house, and hiding behind a bush, he heard almost no sound coming from within. That's funny, he thought, didn't they all bring him home?  
  
"Again," he thought aloud, "Maybe I'm at the wrong house..."

The whole group winced, even Yami couldn't hide how he felt about what Bakura had just done. Kara felt tears forming on the rims of her eyes, why was she crying when Ryou was in danger? A single tear hit her Millennium item before she wiped her face and suddenly remembered the gold item was still hanging around her neck. Then she had a thought, if she could find things with it, why couldn't she hide them to?  
"Bakura you're going to regret that," she told him as she raised her hands to surround her necklace. "Ryou hold still."  
The eye on the crescent lit up momentarily, and under her command the air seemed to shimmer around the group and as the magic worked Ryou's form wavered and dissipated till it looked like Bakura was holding thin air. Kara lowered her hands, but the necklace was still glowing.  
"And to think I once saw you as a friend," she chided.

Derek was scaling the side of the house, and trying to find a foothold on the windowsill, he stretched his leg so far above him that it looked in danger of popping out of its socket.  
"Almost... there..." Derek grunted as he probed with his foot. He got a firm hold, and relieved, he pulled himself up.  
  
Yami Bakura's eyes had gone wide as his hikari had dissapeared then they narrowed as he heard someone upstairs, or so he thought.  
  
Meanwhile, Ryou was staying deathly still as he saw the others through a sort of haze. He could see the others expressions and somehow knew they couldn't see him and neither could his Yami. Unfortunetely his Yami still had his arm around him so he knew his Yami knew he was still there.

Derek tried to open the window, then ended up losing his footing and snapping off a bit of the sill. Now hanging from the top edge of the window. It took a moment for the others to fully comprehend the noise they'd just heard, but recovering from the surprise the quickest, Yami raised his hand again and using a stronger blast of his shadow magic threw Bakura into a wall. The dagger fell with a thud to the carpetted floor, and instantly Kara called her item's magic back. Ryou fell onto his hands and knees, blood trickling down his arm and chest, coating his clothing so it was turning black. Joey ran forward hurridly being the strongest and lifted Ryou up quite easily in his arms, and steped backwards to join the others behind Yami and Kara.  
Yami Bakura growled then glanced up at the noise then back at the others. Seeing as they now had his hikari there wasn't anything else he could do since he was outnumbered and he knew he couldn't win against the pharaoh so he narrowed his eyes and ran up the stairs to see who was there.  
"Stay here and see to Ryou," he told the others sternly and ran off after Bakura. Joey lowered himself to the ground, cradling Ryou in his arms. The white haired teen was ghostly white as blood continued to seep from the injury to his arm, which Tea tried to stop by untying her uniform blue neck tie and placing it over it. His face was soaked with tears as well, and they mingled with the sweat to.  
"Tristan, call an ambulance or something," Joey snapped out to him.  
"Right," Tristan nodded as he ran off to find the phone. Kara gently reached out and took hold of one of Ryou's ghostly white hands, holding it warmly in her own.  
"It's ok Ryou, everything will be fine soon," she comforted.

Derek, hearing someone running up the stairs, whirled his head around, then thinking quickly, dove into the bathroom. He caught a glimpse of Bakura as he ran past, and now he was confused. He was sure Ryou had not looked so... whole, and nor with that glint of evil in his eyes. Not to mention the strange golden object hanging from his neck. Yami raced in after the Bakura a moment later, seemingly trapping him up in the corridor.  
"Bakura turn and face me!" he yelled at him.  
  
Downstairs, Tristan had finally found the phone and had called an ambulance. It was now taking Tea's and Kara's blue school ties to supress the blood seeping from Ryou's arm, and that barely.

Derek then jumped out, surprising Yami.

"What's going on around here?" he asked, confused. "This guy was all beaten up last I saw him..."

Ryou winced slightly as his vision slowly became more hazy then it had been when he was invisible. His arm still hurt but somehow it seemed far away as if it were someone else. His head was swimming and all he could hear was the sound of his beating heart. He was so tired and weak. He knew his friends were there and that it would be ok now.

"Look," Yami growled, trying his best not to yell. "I appreciate you doing what you did, intentional or not, but right now is not the time for explanations. Now move aside, I don't want to put anyone else in danger."  
[Try not to send half or Ryou's house to the shadow realm] Yugi warned worriedly. Yami simply nodded as he heard the sound of a siren, the others had called an ambulance from the sound of it.  
  
Back downstairs, Tristan waved them men in and the one hurriedly lifted Ryou from Joey's arms and down to his waiting colleague.  
"Kara you go with him," Joey suggested. "We'll go and back Yug' up." Kara nodded and went to catch up with the ambulance, managing to hop in before th doors closed. She sat down as it moved off, and reached to hold Ryou's hand whilst the paramedic tried to bandage his arm.  
"Ryou try talking to me," Kara urged. "It'll help."  
Yami Bakura growled as he heard the pharaoh's voice. he smirked as he reached the window which had been broken. He knew he had to retreat for now and that's exactly what he did. A second later he'd jumped out the window and down the street.  
  
Ryou opened his eyes and glanced up at Kara a weak smile crossing his lips,

"I'm sorry for worrying you."  
"It's ok," she responded softly as the paramedic finished securing the bandage. She carefully brushed a bang of his white hair from his eyes, staring down at him.  
"You'll be ok, i'm just glad your awake, you had us worried there for a minute." Her other hand was still holding his, and quite tightly at that.  
"We'll be at the hospital soon," the paramedic told her. "You'll have to wait in the waiting room when we get there."  
"No problem," Kara told him.  
  
Back at Ryou's house, Yami ran to the broken window as Bakura ran and slammed his fist down on the windowsill, hardly noticing the tiny prickles of glass that has scratched the edges of his fists.  
"Coward," he muttered under his breath.  
"Hey! There he goes!" roared Derek, running at the window and pulling it open, jumping after Bakura with Yami looking on in amazement.

Ryou tightened his own grip on Kara's hand as much as he could and closed his eyes again. He couldn't seem to keep them open. He was so tired and so weak. Weak, just like his Yami always said he was. He couldn't even take a little scratch.

Back in Ryou's house, Joey, Tristan and Tea had since bumped into Yami who was coming back down the stairs. He was shaking his head and muttering about how some people and things were so strange, when he bumped into Joey.  
"Hey man, any luck?" asked Joey.  
"Bakura bolted through a window and that new student went after him," Yami responded and gave control back to Yugi.  
"How's Ryou?" Yugi asked now he was back in control.  
"On route to the hospital," Tea responded. "Kara went with him."  
"Then let's go and catch up." With a nod they ran to find a bus to take them to Domino Hospital.  
  
They arrived at Domino Hospital half an hour later, jumping off the bus as they got there. All four strode into the into the hospital and began looking around the main entrance foyer, wandering where Kara would be. She'd surely be here by now.  
"Yugi, guys!" Kara called waving to them. They turned to see the crimson and gold haired girl walking towards them, with conern and worry written all over her face.  
"How's Ryou?" Tea asked.  
"I don't know yet," Kara responded. "I've been here for nearly twenty minutes, and I don't know much yet."  
"I'll find out," Joey offered, and just as he said that a doctor came walking down the hallway.  
"Excuse me, who's the young lady who came with the white haired boy in the ambulance?" he asked seeing the five teens.  
"I am," Kara responded immediately. "Is he all right?"  
"We've bandaged the injury to his arm, he has a few bruised ribs and several minor cuts and bruises, but other than that he's fine and currently resting." The look of relief on all their faces was amazingly evident.  
"Can we see him?" asked Yugi.  
"Yes, but only for a few minutes," the doctor nodded. "The loss of blood has exhausted him."  
"You and Kara go," Tristan told Yugi. "We'll wait here." With a nod Kara and Yugi followed the doctor to Ryou's hospital room.

Ryou was already half asleep by the time the two came in though he shook himself out of it slightly and glanced over at them with a weak smile then bit his lip,

"What happened to," he stopped for a second then took a deep breath and finished, "my yami?"  
"He bolted," Yugi told him as he leant on the bed. "Right out of a broken window, don't ask. That new student Derek, went after him. Only the gods no why."  
"You shouldn't worry about that right now," Kara told him as she smiled down at him. "Bakura knows he's outnumbered right now anyway." She placed her hand on top of his gently, all the time smiling reassuringly.  
"We can only stay for a few minutes," Yugi told him. "Doctor says you need rest."

Neither Derek nor his quarry were slowing down, or even short of breath. Bakura made a sharp turn that nearly threw Derek off his trail, but he changed his direction quickly and was on his heels once again. This chase isn't likely to end soon, thought Derek.  
During this time Ryou had gone back to sleep, leaving Yugi and Kara to say quiet good byes to him before they left. Yugi patted his hand gently, before exiting the room.  
"Get well Ryou," he whispered closing the door. Kara left last, placing a soft kiss on the white-haired hikari's forehead before she to left him to sleep.  
"Night Ryou," she whispered and hurried to join the others.  
  
She soon caught up with Yugi, who was letting the others know how Ryou was getting on, and they all looked relieved.  
"Well we know the doctors will take care of him from here," Joey smiled. "Let's go home, we could all use a bit of sleep ourselves."  
"I heard that," Tristan agreed. The group of five waved good bye to the doctor looking after Ryou, and left to catch a bus home.  
"I am going to end up sleeping in my uniform when I get home," Tea groaned. "I'll be too exhausted to change."  
"Yeah," Joey agreed with a yawn as they stepped onto the next bus and flashed their bus passes to the driver. "Hey what exactly happened to Bakura?"  
"Haven't a clue," Yugi responded. "Probably still being chased across the city by Derek."  
"That's probably a spectacle to anyone watching," Kara laughed. The others nodded in agreement, before all of them yawned from their own exhaustian. Having to stop of at Yugi's first to grab their things, Joey, Tea, Kara and Tristan got of the bus and retrieved their bags.  
"See you at school Yug!" Joey yelled as he and Tristan ran off one way.  
"Yeah, if they get up, bye Yugi," Tea smiled.  
  
Kara hung around a while longer before she left, talking to Yugi and Yami through Yugi about Bakura. Both decided it was best not to try and find him, he'd have enough trouble with Derek who appeared quite formidable.  
"See you Yugi," Kara chimed as she ran to get home.  
"Yeah," Yugi waved before closing and locking the Kame Game Shop door.  
{You're troubled Yugi} Yami stated. {What's wrong?}  
[Just hoping Bakura will leave Ryou alone now] Yugi responded as he headed upstairs.  
{He should for now} Yami confirmed. {If not we're all here and Ryou knows it} Yugi nodded, changed and sat on his bed.  
[Oh well, i'm going to see how much of Romeo and Juliet I can get through then try my other homework then bed] Yugi chuckled.  
{Have fun} Yami joked lightly. Yugi smirked and pulling out his copy of Romeo and Juliet, began to read.

Bakura soon lost Derek and hid himself in an old abandoned building, "Who was that and why in the world was he running after me?" the spirit growled crossing his arms as he sat on a crate. He was exhausted and had no idea what to do now. The pharaoh and his friends probably wouldn't allow him near his hikari after what he'd done. He growled to himself as he rested his head on the wall and closed his eyes. Just a few hours sleep. That was all that he asked.  
  
He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. It was pitch black. He couldn't tell where he was but he did know he wasn't in the abandoned building anymore. This seemed more like the shadow realm to him. He reached for the millennium ring to help him but found that it was no longer around his neck. He tensed. Without the ring he knew he was in trouble. He clenched his teeth and began to walk through the black abyss before him.  
"Hello? Hello!? Is anyone here?" Came a voice suddenly. The spirit of the ring found he recognised the voice and began to walk towards it. It couldn't be him though. Could it? But how did his hikari end up here, and better yet, how did he?  
"Ryou?" he mumbled as he saw the figure looking around nervously. He walked towards the young white haired boy. A second later Ryou twisted around to see who was there then yelped and backed away. He looked so frightened. He'd done this. He'd hurt him. He'd scared his own hikari for life physicly and emotionally. But why did he seem to care all of a sudden? He hadn't cared before. He'd never cared when he was doing it. Why now?  
"Please don't hurt me," came a whimper from his light half. He walking towards the boy and backed up a bit. They needed to get out of here. They needed to find out where they were. Then he noticed Ryou had the millennium ring dangling from his neck, his neck which seemed to be bleeding. His eyes went wide as he looked Ryou over and realized that the boy was suddenly dripping with blood. What was going on. Was this some kind of trick?  
  
Ryou began to shake as he looked at his hands which were drenched in his own blood. He backed up some more shaking his head in fear and whimpering before choking slightly and spitting out blood. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself as he sobbed. Yami Bakura began to shake as well. Had he done this? He couldn't remember. He slowly walked towards his aibou putting out a hand and placing it on the boys shoulder only to have him pull away in fear. The tombrobber closed his eyes for a moment then whispered,

"I'm so sorry."  
- - - - -

Yami Bakura opened his eyes slowly and looked through the dark building before him,

"Just a dream? Hmmm, but why can't I get that out of my mind? It felt so real. Damn it what have I done." He growls and gets up punching the wall,

"It was real. I know it was. That was the shadow realm. It was showing me what i'd done. It was showing me the pain I caused my light." He sighed then pushed off the wall and turned towards the door,

"I can't go back. I'm so sorry Ryou. I hope you can forgive me."

* * *

R&R There's a special surprise in chapter 5.


	5. Trust the Truth

Disclaimer: Same as on the last four chapters.

Special notice: Another great chapter with the help of my friends BMK and Jaesai

* * *

It had now been several months since Ryou had had his continuous problems with his Yami, Bakura, who had disappeared although to where no one knew. They just knew that the new student, Derek, had chased him half way across Domino Town before apparently losing him. Ryou had spent a week in hospital reccuperating from the injuries he'd sustained, with his five friends visiting him after school every day. Yugi had kept him up to date with what was going on, while Tea and Kara had each bought him a bunch of flowers to cheer him up.  
  
He was now currently away on a trip with his father for some rest away from it all, leaving the others to their school work. Joey envied him, but he needed it truthfully and honestly. Although he didn't know he was about to be in for some serious trouble when he got back, not with something getting loose and trying to destroy things for people with close friends or more. The group were talking about it during lunch on Wednesday afternoon.  
"Yeah, apparently witnesses said they saw some guy talking to the woman and her boyfriend before they split up, and it was over apparently nothing," Tea told them as she bit into a plum.  
"Someone's trying to break up a relationship," Tristan shrugged. "So what? Probably just a jealous ex-boyfriend or something."  
"This has happened to several people Tristan," Kara countered as she unscrewed the bottle top of her bottle of water. "They're friends one minute, then the next they're trying to beat seven bells out of each other."  
  
Yami listened to all of this with interest, he never understood any persons wish to destroy a friendship. It was wrong to do that to anyone, although it did seem kind of familiar.

Derek had been ticked since Bakura disappeared. Not only did he still not know what was going on with that boy Ryou, teachers were giving excuses to dump him in detention, as if they were apprehensive of what he could do otherwise. Worse yet, the kids he had been forced to beat up kept looking for him, and he kept being forced into skirmishes, which in turn kept landing him a ton of punishments. Nobody was even slightly sympathetic to his plight, except the principal, who had a drinking problem and did not have a shred of credibility (the vice principal really ran the school), and Yugi and co., who Derek could not see all that often, with the isolation thing going on. All in all, Derek was not a happy person as he got out of his thirty-eighth consecutive day of detention. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he suddenly saw a furtive-looking guy hanging around, who seemed to be following a pair of girls, who were extremely tight friends. Derek thought nothing more of it, as he hadn't seen a newspaper in days, and his laptop had gone haywire the other day and he never got the chance to repair it.  
By the end of school that day, Kara was heading out of the school's front entrance with a medium sized lilac gym bag slung over her arm as she always did on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Sunday mornings. She sighed as she hefted the bag for a moment, it was quite weighty even though the things in it were only light. Kara had never really told any of her friends what she kept in the bag, although it wasn't like she was embarrassed about doing ballet, she just preferred to keep it private. She had to catch another bus to Madam Amari's Dance studio again, and had to go the opposite way to her usual route home. She had no idea about the two girls in school who'd started fighting during a free lesson for no apparent reason, she'd been too busy wandering what Ryou was up to at the time. True she missed him, but he was better off away fro now.  
"Come on," she moaned as she waited for the bus. Dark clouds were looming over head, as it had been pretty humid that day and that suggested storm. Needless to say she didn't want to get wet, not without an umbrella anyways. She didn't notice the shadowy being across the street, but she did notice a sudden chill in the air she didn't like.  
  
So, the creature thought having read Kara's thoughts. She's quite close to the one named Ryou, despite his absence. Let's see if I can change that, shall we. That said his dark haired and dark eyed appearance switched magically, so he looked exactly like the white haired teen. This'll be fun he thought harshly. 'Ryou' walked towards Kara sneeking up behind her,

"Well how do we have here." Kara jumped in surprise at hearing her friends voice, and turned around to face him. Luckily her bus wouldn't be here for a few minutes.  
"Ryou, you're back from your trip early," she told him. "Did you have to cut it short for some reason?"

Derek had been walking past after his thirty-ninth consecutive day of detention (would it ever end?) when he saw Ryou. He was about to go over and talk to him when suddenly he saw Kara as well. Must be a private moment, he thought, and quickly retreated behind a tree, where he could not be seen, but was still within earshot.

"Ya well," he paused for a moment, "I'm probably going to go back and I don't think I'll be returning. I, uhhh, met someone. She's amazing and I promised I'd go back so we could be together. I'm going to be going back tommorow evening. I can't wait. You really should meet her. She's beautiful and really smart." Looks like he's daydreaming all of a sudden.  
'What? It's not like Ryou to have a girlfriend, much less be so insensitive to the girl who cares about him most' Derek thought, bewildered. 'What's going on?'

Kara felt her skin tingle from a strange cold that was moving around, she didn't like it at all. Was this the same Ryou she considered her best friend? She rubbed her sleeved arms quietly, and shrugged it off.  
"So you've got a girlfriend?" she stated in a monotoned voice. "That's wanderful." Kara kicked herself mentally, what was she saying? She had a crush on Ryou herself, but hey if he didn't feel the same way that was fine with her. It wasn't like he'd ever said anything to her about similar feelings, so why should she worry?  
"Since you're moving, can you still write?" she asked. "I can give you my full address, then at least i'll know what's up and all and vice versa." The same chilling feeling floated around Kara like a ghostly chill, what was wrong here and why all of a sudden was she feeling like she hated Ryou more than she hated his darker half Bakura? Her Millennium Item shuddered in response to the sudden change of it's owners mood, she couldn't be jealous could she? No that wasn't possible, yet it was possible. She felt jealous and yet she felt there was no reason for it, she'd never felt jealous before when she sensed that Ryou had feelings for someone else, so why now?

"Whatever," he shrugged, "Make it quick though cause I gotta get going," he said with a rather bored tone of voice. It won't take long before this relationship is down the drain like the others. He couldn't even remember how many lives he'd torn apart. So many friendships, so many loves.  
Kara hurriedly pulled her notebook and pen out of her backpack, and scribbled her address down, before tearing the page out, folding it up and handing it to the white haired teenager.  
"There you go," she smiled slightly as she put her things away and saw her bus coming round the corner. "I have to go then, have fun wherever it is you're moving to." She held her hand out to call the bus to stop and giving him another slight smile, she stepped onto the bus, flashed her pass to the driver and went to sit down as he drove off.  
  
As she sat herself down and levered her bags onto her lap, she felt her cheeks warm up and her eyes tingled. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she hurriedly brushed it away. She didn't need the girls in her ballet class asking what was wrong with her. Her two friends she'd made there when she'd switched ballet schools would surely bother her about it, especially until they got an answer.

Just as the bus was about to leave Kara could see Ryou rip up the piece of paper, turn and walk away.  
"That should seal it for good. Bye bye best friend. Hello hatered," 'Ryou' smirked as he turned a corner and returned to his normal form. He chuckled coldly as he walked down the alley and onto another street, "Off to find my next victims."

Derek narrowed his eyes in dislike. What in the world does that jerk think he's doing? he thought angrily. He trailed 'Ryou' down two blocks, to see perhaps where he was staying, then was unpleasantly surprised to see 'Ryou' go the wrong way, away from his house.  
  
Hmm, he thought, curiosity roused. He suddenly felt a chill, a premonition, then a flash of understanding as 'Ryou' looked furtively around, then changed back into the skulking figure that was his true form. He was wearing a T-shirt that seemed a bit too small for him, and faded jeans with trainers that were falling apart. He had wisps of a mustache and a beard, as though he hadn't gotten a shave, and his hair was limp, black, and thin. As he hurried through the next alley, Derek decided not to follow him. If his book warned him, he decided to take it seriously.  
  
I'm sure the guys will be... interested to know this, he thought with a smirk. "If only I can get to talk to them," he mumbled under his breath as he thought about his next couple of detentions.

Kara's eyes shimmered with forming tears, but she wouldn't let them fall till she was alone. There were too many people on the bus. As soon as the bus turned for her stopped, she got up with her bags and pressed the stopping bell. The driver slowly brought the bus to a stop and she stepped off, and watched it leave before hurriedly heading to the school a few doors down. Tears whelled in her eyes and began to fall as she walked through the large wooden doors, and made her way to the changing rooms to change into her blue ballet dress. Finding herself a little corner, she began to change, and took her millennium item off to. She sniffed as her tears continued to fall, not noticing her friends Emily-Jane and Michelle, or Micky for short coming towards her.  
"Hey babe," Emily called sounding quite cheery. Emily was a blonde haired, greyish blue eyed girl, slightly taller than herself and was amazing at ballet jumps. She was slo quite boisterous, and cheery was an understatement. Micky was a long legged, brunette with red streaks in her hair and pretty green eyes. She was quiet and thoughtful, and could twirl really beautifully. She looked up and hurriedly wiped her face, but they'd already seen enough.  
"What's wrong babe?" asked Emily. "Someone upset you?" Kara shook her head.  
"Are you sure?" Kara sighed.  
"Someone I thought was a good friend just decided he didn't want to know me anymore, that's all," she told them and tears rolled down her cheeks.  
"Guys are jerks," Micky consoled rubbing her back as Kara tied her ballet shoes ribbons around her ankles. "Come on, perk up and let's go. Maybe some practice will work out that stress." Kara nodded as the two girls dragged her to her feet, so her blue dress could fall loosely down by her knees. She wiped her eyes as Micky dragged her through into the ballet room, where Miss. Amari was waiting for them.  
"Ok girls," she called seeing the last three girls appear. "Limber up, we're going to be practicing the dance of the sugar plum fairy and I want you warmed up."  
"Yes Miss," the eight girls chimed in unison and began to stretch.

Kara stood sandwiched between Emily and Micky, as they did their stretches, making sure they were nimble for practice. She stared quietly in front of her at Micky, who was dressed in a similar outfit to her own, only in lilac. Where as Emily as she looked behind her, was dressed in blue.  
"Ok girls, we'll now practice at the bar first," Miss. Amari called clapping her hands. All eight girls took a hold of the bar on the wall behind them, and waited for her 'commands' as it were.  
"Now girls, I want you to practice going up on your toes and doing the raised leg pose," Miss. Amari instructed. "Do this until I say otherwise."  
  
The 8 girls sighed, and raised themselves up on their toes and went through the usual ballet motions, whilst Miss. Amari tended to four younger students who were working on the other side of the room.  
"Kara," Micky called as she lowered her leg and went down flat on her feet.  
"Yes," Kara responded as she followed her movements.  
"Feeling better?"  
"Not really."  
"Hey we'll talk later," Emily called as they balanced on one leg with the aid of the bar. Kara nodded, doing these exercises always seemed to help relax her, and right now even though they weren't doing much at least she felt calmer. Although why she still felt hate towards one of her closest friends, was beyond her.

Kara had spent the rest of her class practicing the dance of the sugar plum fairy with her classmates, dancing beautifully on the shiny wooden dance floor. Emily and Micky danced either side of her and a few feet away. Emily was behind, while Kara and Micky danced in front. Kara was focused when she danced, so her thoughts never wandered, but as Miss. Amari called an end to the two hour class who thoughts slid back to earlier. She entered the changing rooms and changed into something more comfortable, namely her jeans and t-shirt, she always packed them and never wore her school uniform afterwards.  
"So spill," Emily cooed as the three girls walked over and found a bench to sit on.  
"My so called 'friend' Ryou doesn't want to be my friend anymore all over a girl," Kara responded.  
"What a jerk," Micky growled. "Want us to talk to him?"  
"No," Kara responded. "It's not worth hassel." The girls talked for a good hour or so, ignoring the buses that went by. Kara needed to talk, and when her two friends pressed she told them how she liked Ryou and that it hurt to hear him say such things and do such things. Emily might've been a ballerina with grace and beauty, but she was also part tomboy, and threatened to hurt him at one point, before Kara said no.  
"I have to get home," she told them as her next bus appeared. Giving them a wave, she got on her bus and went home.  
  
Once there she ate her dinner, talked in general about her day with her parents and went to bed. She was exhausted from ballet class, and hurriedly putting her millennium item back on, she curled up under her bedcovers and went to sleep. Tears slowly trickled down her face as she slept, soaking a spot on her pillow.  
  
The next morning she got ready for school and caught the bus, although going took her thoughts elsewhere. She was lucky getting off the bus and getting into school was routine, as she subconsciously made her way there as she subconsciously made her way there and walked over to lean in the shadows of a tree not far away from Yugi and the others. 

The man smirked as he wandered around Domino High the next day. He remembered in reading the girls mind that he had other friends here at the school. Something drew the man to work his magic with these teens as well. He slowly walked behind a tree and when he got to the other side he was Ryou again. He grinned slightly as he walked into the schoolyard. He saw Yugi and his friends and wandered over to them calmly.

"Hi Ryou, you're home early," Tea chimed when she saw the white haired boy approaching them.  
"Yeah, how was your trip?" asked Yugi cheerily.

"I was great," he smiled, "But I just came to say goodbye because I'm going back for good." He left it at that waiting for the reply. He sent a casual glance over to Kara who looked rather depressed. How wonderful this was turning out to be.

Suddenly Derek spotted 'Ryou'.

"Hey, you!" he growled. "Get over here!" he added menacingly as he advanced on 'Ryou' who had an expression of fear on his face. Was there perhaps an enemy of this boy besides his troublesome Yami that he hadn't known about? No, that was impossible.  
"Get away from them," Derek snarled, grabbing 'Ryou' around the collar. He would have thrown him then, but the vice principal, who came out to see what the commotion was about, blew his whistle and roared,

"DEREK! I should have known it would be you! Another week of detention! Now DROP HIM!!" Obeying, Derek chucked Ryou a full six feet.

"Remember: I know who you are. Stay away from his friends." He then turned on his heel, ignoring the vice principal's shouts and the confused looks on the faces of Yugi and co.  
"What was all that about?" asked Joey, looking rather confused.

"Don't know," Yugi responded throwing a glance towards Kara who was leaning against another tree, seemingly sulking. Ryou or rather the fake Ryou had sicne got up and dusted himself of, before returning to the others.

'Ryou' sighed and shrugged,

"I have no idea what his problem is. He's kind of wierd. Anyway, I'm leaving tonight to go back to Australia. I met a girl and I promised I'd go back after I said my goodbyes." He didn't look too impressed with the thought of 'goodbye'. He looked more like if he could he would have just stayed and not even said goodbye,

"So I guess this is goodbye," he shrugged carelessly.  
"Oh well, I guess that's cool," Yugi told him. "You will write won't you." Hearing footsteps after he'd said that, he turned his head to see Kara walking away towards the school building. One of her other friends Jessie was waving at her, so it was obvious where she was going. Although she still looked kind of upset.

"Uhhh, ya sure I guess," he said not nearly close to being convincing, "Anyway, I better get back and pack. I can't wait to get back to Andrea and the others. She introduced me to some of her friends. They're really cool."  
"Andrea?" Joey hissed to Duke and Tristan. "And her friends, charming." Ryou shrugged again and turned and left, leaving the group dumbfounded.  
"Jerk," Tea muttered when he was out of heariung range. "I can't believe he said that. "To say that to us and in front of Kara."  
"Yeah, especially when she has a crush on him," Tristan growled. "I have half a mind to mimic Derek's actions."  
"I don't know guys," Yugi argued. "That is not like Ryou."  
{Yugi, it was Ryou} Yami told him.  
[I know, but it didn't seem right that's what i'm saying. He almost seemed, cruel]  
{Hmm}  
"Come on we've got to get to class," Tea urged. "Or we'll get a tardy." The group hurried into class and entered their homeroom to see that Jessie, another of Kara's friends was sitting in Ryou's seat. She was leaning over the table talking to Kara, who had her head resting in her arms. They could just hear the whispered conversation.  
"Don't let it bug you honey," Jessie urged softly. Jessie was a quiet girl, with short brown curly hair and brown eyes.  
"If that's the way he wants to be let him. Better off in my view." They couldn't hear what Kara responded with, but Jessie did and sympathetically patted her arm.

"Hmmm wonderful," 'Ryou' murmured as he walked behind another tree and returned to his true form, "I have half a mind to stay and see what happens when this Ryou returns." He smirked at the thought of the hatred awaiting the boy when he returned.

Kara spent the rest of the morning during her classes just blankly listening to her teachers, and writing down her work. When asked a question she'd answer it, but otherwise she remained silent. She didn't even notice when Joey chucked a note into her lap during Geography, until she got up for the end of class and it fell to the floor. She picked it up and scan read it.

[i]What's up Kara? Is it what Ryou said?[/i]

[i]Joey[/i]

Kara sighed as she turned and looked at Joey, it had been third lesson and now they were heading to lunch, they always went together after Geography on a Wednesday along with Duke. The three walked over to their usual table to join Yugi, Tea and Tristan. Since several incidents, she and Ryou had taken to sitting with the others. Kara shared a seat next to Tea usually and usually listened to her talk about dance and stuff, but today she was completely zoned out.

"Kara?" Tea called shaking her by the arm. "Kara, what's the matter? You've lost in your own head all morning." Kara turned, her eyes even more narrow than usual.

"It's nothing," she told her queitly. "Just thinking."

"If it's about Ryou we're with you," Duke told her sympathetically, then his tone changed. "The jerk, i'd love him to see him again in private, then knock the stuffing out of him."

"It still doesn't seem like Ryou," Yugi argued sticking up for the white haired teen. "It really doesn't."

"Yug'," Joey told him matter-of-factly. "Ryou not only insulted us after all we did for 'im, 'e also said things about some girl 'es got friendly with. Right in fron't of Kara, that ain't cool."

"Who say's that matters?" Kara asked nochalantly.

"You like him don't ya?" Joey asked.

"Not in that way," Kara said and hurriedly hid the blush forming on her cheeks. While the others continued to argue over several factors of all this, Yugi said nothing and continued to eat his lunch.

{You still don't think Ryou's to blame do you Yugi?} Yami asked calmly from within his mind.

[No Yami, I don't] Yugi responded.

Ryou yawned as he watched clouds go by from the plane. It would only be an hour till touchdown and he couldn't wait to see his friends, expecially Kara. He sighed as he closed his eyes. The trip to Australia wasn't as nice as he would have liked. He spent most of the time thinking about Kara and the others.  
That was the Saturday afternoon as his plane began to descend towards Domino Airport, and he had a feeling he'd be spending the rest of the weekend getting over the jet lag, which he did.

Monday soon came, and Kara had just walked into the school grounds. She had no idea that the 'real' Ryou was on his way to school, and since she was early she stayed in the courtyard for a while reading a book, as she sat on a bench under one of the bigger trees. Hearing the bell ring, she hurriedly ran to registration, then straight to Geography after the teacher had registered all the students. She didn't seem to notice Ryou appear as she strode down the corridor, as he was just entering the classroom to tell Mr. Kasumi that he was back and to apologise for being a few minutes later.

Kara settled herself down in her seat in front of Duke, and pulled her books out in front of her and a pen and pencil.

"Ok class," Miss. Kasu called. "Today we're going to be studying the workings of volcanic ash and how it and volcano's are formed." It was actually just advanced study on bits and bobs they already knew, but hey why not?

"Something to do," Kara muttered. "At least it's something."

Ryou nodded to Mr. Kasumi and headed towards his Geography class. He gently fingered the beaded necklace he had hidden in his pocket to give to Kara. He also had some specialty Australian Duel Monster cards for his friends.  
  
He walked to the door and knocked calmly seeing as the class had already started. Miss Kasu walked over and opened it. She smiled and said welcome back as Ryou stepped into the class. He smiled and nodded to her. Kara, Joey and Duke all looked up on hearing the knock and on seeing who it was to enter, their faces took on an expression that was a mix of anger and shock. Joey and Duke were still rather annoyed with him, as was Tea and Tristan. Yugi was still on the fence as to if Ryou was to blame, Yami wasn't totally sure himself and Kara simply didn't want to know. She'd spoken to her ballet friends on Thursday and Sunday of the week gone by, and both had said not to bother if he was going to be that way. So as he walked past her, she turned her head to her work, pointedly ignoring the white-haired teenager.  
"We can still teach him a lesson," Duke hissed from behind her. Kara shrugged and continued to write what Miss. Kasu had half scribbled on the board.

"Ok class," Miss. Kasu called turning back to the other students as Ryou went to sit down. "Please continue copying this information out." She instantly went back to writing.

As Derek slouched past on his way to detention, he looked in the class, and noticed Ryou was back. Hmmm, he wondered, I wonder if this is the Yami, the Hikari, or the imposter. Something gold glinted in his eye, and he nodded. Oh yeah, its the real McCoy, he thought to himself satisfatorily, and continued on his way.

Miss. Kasu continued to say exactly what she was writing as it appeared on the board, and the students wrote it down as she went. Kara kept her attention on her work, not noticing Ryou as he glanced over at her as he to wrote down the information the teacher was giving them. Both Joey and Duke glared at him, and Duke even hissed several things to Joey under his breath, but each and every time Kara shot them a look that said 'don't waste your energy guys; and carried on working. Ryou sat back against his seat and stared at Kara for a moment or two putting his hand in his pocket and fiddling with the necklace again. She seemed mad or something but he'd have to ask her later so he continued to write down the information from the board. As he wrote he glanced over at Duke and Joey who seemed even more angry for some reason.  
"Now I want you to turn to page 72 in the books on your desks," Miss. Kasu called to them. "and draw that volcano out and label it. And do it quickly, you only have fifteen minutes of class to do it in." Kara opened her book and began to write, as did Joey, Duke and the rest of the class. Drawing it first took at least ten minutes, so it was pretty hard to squeeze in the writing part. It was at those times the students wished that Miss. Kasu wouldn't take so long to explain things, then they'd probably have time to do things. Although Joey thought she did it deliberately, and often said so.

The class were only half way through writing the labels, when the bell rang to signal the end of class. They all got up and began to put their books away, as Miss. Kasu came and stood in front of the board.

"Since I didn't give you enough time," she told them, obviously being aware of that fact. "You may take the books home tonight and finish them for homework, but I want the books back by tomorrow. You may now go." Groaning the class picked up the text books, and filed out of the classroom hurriedly to get to nect class, which for Joey, Duke, Kara and Ryou was English with Mrs. Kayani.

Ryou tried to catch up with his three classmates, but they purposely walked on ahead of him and to class without even answering his calls to them. Ryou stopped in the middle of the hall as his friends walked off. Why were they mad at him? He'd just gotten back and he'd expected them to be happy. Thankfully, Mr. Kasumi had said that if he wasn't feeling up to staying the full day due to jet lag he could leave whenever he wanted. So that's exactly what he did. He didn't think he could spend another class with his friends angry with him and not knowing why.  
  
He walked down the hall, out of the school and out onto the sidewalk and headed towards home. Maybe he was paranoid or something. Maybe a nice long rest would make him feel better. He sighed as he fingered the necklace for the umteenth time and brushed his hands over the cards he'd gotten for his friends.  
"Hey man," called a familiar voice from behind him. Ryou turned around to see Derek looking rather bored. "Remember me? The guy who chased your Yami away? Listen, I'm cutting detention, so I'm gonna make this quick: Stay away from your friends for a while. They've gotten some... misleading information about you and they all took it really hard. Especially that girl, what's her name? Oh yeah, Kara. So be careful around them. It'll work out." And without waiting for a response to this shocking explanation, Derek walked off, leaving a confused Ryou behind him.

Ryou blinked several times then sighed. Why would they believe someone else over him? Why would someone want to give them 'misleading' information about him? Some friends they were if they'd believe someone's lies that easily.  
Ryou crossed his arms as he walked back towards his house. If they wanted to believe that then so be it. Let them believe whatever they want. He wouldn't let it bother him. He'd do just what Derek said and avoid them.  
Kara, Joey and Duke hadn't seen Ryou leave school at all, they'd been too busy heading into English. The others were there waiting for them, and greeted them with a polite wave.

"Hey guys," Yugi chimed.

{Yugi, I sense the Millennium Ring} Yami told him through their link.

"Guys, is Ryou in school?" he asked.

"Yeah he was, dunno where he is now though," Joey snorted. "Don't care either."

"Guys, give him a chance to explain," Yugi groaned. "I don't think it was Ryou's fault." Joey, Duke, Tristan and Tea all gave him a look. He was the only one who thought that. Kara didn't even answer him or look at him, she was too busy wandering where her copy of Wuthering Heights was, since it was the newest book they were working on in class. She soon found it at the bottom of her school bag, just as she felt a slight tap on her arm.

Turning she looked straight into Yugi's wide amethyst eyes, he looked concerned but also a little shocked.

"If it's about Ryou I don't want to talk about it," she told him matter-of-factly and turned to the front of the class as Mrs. Kayani walked into the room and put her things on her desk. Yugi sighed, he knew Kara as well as he knew his other friends, she still cared she was just hurt that was all.

"Ok class, chapter five, page 68, start reading and we'll make notes as we go," she called to them, and the whole class began to read.

Derek smirked at the cowering figure of the Imposter.

"Your race is so run," he said with an evil grin. "Armed Dragon, finish him off! Direct Attack!" His Duel Monster reared and sprayed emerald green flames over the imposter who screamed in pain. When the flames subsided, and the dark wisps of the Shadow Game started to dissipate and fade away, Derek walked over to the Imposter, who lay twitching on the ground, wracked in pain, eyes chillingly blank. The eye of Ra glowed on Derek's forehead for a brief moment. "You have violated the lives of countless people," he said in a voice quite unlike his own. "Punishment Game! Your fate: your powers of shapeshifting will never serve you again, and instead YOU will be the one betrayed!" Insane laughter permeated the city. The imposter had been left, forever changing back and forth between the forms he had acquired... and the most frequent face was: Ryou's.  
Ryou opened the door to his house and shut it rather loudly. He angrily headed up towards his room.  
"Ryou? What in the world was that all about and what are you doing back so soon?" his father asked walking out of his own room and standing at the top of the stairs. He looked his son over and crossed his arms waiting for an answer.  
"I don't want to talk about it. Mr. Kasumi let me leave early anyway," Ryou said walking up the stairs as his father stepped aside. He put a hand on his sons soulder, "Are you sure you don't want to talk Ryou?" he asked gently.  
"Yes." Mr. Bakura wasn't so sure his son was telling the truth as he watched him walk into his room, he could tell as he went to try and talk to his son. He put his hand on the door handle and was about to open the door Ryou had closed so sharply, when he heard Ryou muttering several things under his breath and trying to hold back angry sobs. Deciding that despite Ryou's wishes, he'd ask anyway. Slowly pushing the door open he entered the room, to find the white haired teen lying won his bed with his face to the wall.

"Ryou," he tried softly as he walked over and sat on the edge of his sons bed. "Why don't you tell me what happened? It's obvious something has upset you and i'm not leaving till you tell me what it is."

Meanwhile at school, Yugi had flicked a note onto Kara's lap.

[i]Kara, why not give Ryou a chance to explain? You never doubted him before.

Yugi[/i]

Kara read the note, and scribbled her reply.

[i]Why? I don't like being hurt Yugi, not by someone who I thought was my best friend.

Kara[/i] That done she flicked it back onto his notebook.

Meanwhile at Ryou's house.

"They're all mad at me because of some rumours someone started that I don't even know about," Ryou mumbled, "They believed someone else over me. Even Kara believed whatever it was that this person told her. I don't know what's going on anymore." Ryou's father reached out and rested his hand on his son's shoulder, rubbing it gently.

"Maybe you should try talking to them," he suggested. "Not doing so won't help. And if i'm right, you really care about them don't you, especially the young girl who seems to have caught your eye, am I right?"

Ryou blushed at that and mumbled, "Dad," and threw a pillow at him. Then he sighed, "Derek said I should avoid them for a while but I guess I should probably talk to them. What if they don't want to listen though? They're the only friends I have and I don't want to loose them."  
"Then go and talk to them," he told him gently and patted his son's arm before getting up and heading to the door. "It may be worth while, and I suggest you don't hide the fact you like the young lady forever." That said he left the room and closed the door. Ryou decided he would talk to them, after school. They were sure to head to Yugi's house for an hour or two, so he could go there.

Exhausted, Derek walked home in a trance and collapsed on his bed, his Millennium book glowing. He obviously wouldn't wake until the next day.  
Back at school, English had finished and the group were heading to History. Yugi had tried his hardesr to talk to his friends and luckily Tea was willing to listen if they could talk to Ryou. Joey, Tristan and Duke were umming and ahhing over it and Kara wasn't sure either. He was sure he saw a hint of her true feelings for Ryou glint in her eyes, but she was good at hiding them.

"Kara," he said softly while they waited for their teacher who didn't seem to be turning up. "Do you still care about Ryou?"

"I thought I did," Kara responded as she rubbed her millennium item with her fingers. "But honestly after what he said, I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Would you at least hear him out?"

"Only if he had a good reason," she told him calmly. During this conversation, Yami had felt a strange tingling sensation shoot through him, it was shadow magic and quite a bit in fact. Who could be using shadow magic? He said nothing to Yugi though, so he didn't worry him.

Later that day, as the group finished school they headed out of the gates and towards the Kame Game shop just as Ryou had expected. They were heading down a particular street with several alley ways, an unusual detour from their usual route, but they needed the long walk to talk about how to talk to Ryou.

"Would you guys just hear him out if we do?" Yugi pleaded for the dozenth time.

"Fine Yug' if it'll make ya happy," Joey said finally.

"Great." At that very moment, the group heard a strange mumbling sound and Yami tensed within the puzzle. Both Yugi's and Kara's items shimmered and shook, at the presence of shadow magic.

{The magic I sensed before} Yami whispered.

[It's down here] Yugi agreed as they headed towards an alley. [Wait you sensed it before?]

{Yes, but I didn't want to worry you}

[Oh, thanks. I guess] As they stopped in the alley, they saw the shapeshifter, and his form radically changing to different ones, including Ryou's. Yugi walked over to examin him and shivered, this had to be a shaodw game punishment, ouch. He remembered them from when Yami used to invoke them

[Bakura?] he asked.

{No someone else, but I don't know who} Yami responded.

"I feel like an idiot," Joey groaned as Tea searched out some coins to call the police from a near by payphone.

"We all do," Tristan agreed.

"And we so horrid to him," Duke nodded as Tea finished on the phone and they headed to the Game shop. Yugi glanced at Kara, who was looking very thoughtful at the moment. He knew what she was thinking, she'd thought otherwise against her best friend and now she felt guilt about the whole thing.

Ryou walked down the street towards the Kame Game Shop. He was slightly shocked when the millennium ring began to glow but sighed with relief when it stopped. He bit his lip wondering what had set the item off and looked around curiously. He prayed to god that it didn't have anything to do with his dark half. It was actually Yugi and the others, they were late home he noticed and he wandered what had kept them. He then sense shadow magic near by, quite a lot of it. Had someone threatened them again? Then Yami would probably have taken over to deal with it, he knew the ancient spirit well enough to know he would've done that. Yet he didn't see the subtle changes he could see to Yugi when he switched with Yami, so maybe he was mistaken. They saw him soon enough to, as they crossed over to the Kame Game shop and met him at the door.

"Hi Ryou," Yugi chimed cheerily as he opened the door. "Please come in." Ryou bit his lip and glanced over at the others before nodding and walking into the shop. He was once again fiddling with the necklace and the cards in his pocket as Yugi led the way to the living space behind the shop. He noticed the others didn't seem as angry now and felt a bit relieved though still nervous.  
The others slipped their outside shoes off and their inside shoes on as they entered the living room. Ryou followed and sat down and was surprised when Kara sat down beside him, and he also noticed a faint blush appearing on her face and that she didn't seem able to look him in the eye at the moment.

"Ryou," Joey began sheepishly. "We all owe you an apology, we got duff information from a magical being we thought was you and took it at face value and we're sorry."

"Yes we are," Tea agreed as Duke and Tristan nodded. "Yugi and the puzzle spirit believed in you though."

"I'm to blame the most though," Kara admitted as the blush on her face deepened and she looked up at him. "You're my best friend and I believed you were guilty. I guess I was more upset than mad really. I'm sorry." It was then that Yugi proceeded to tell Ryou about what had happened, and how they'd just found the said shapeshifter in an alleyway suffering from the effects of a shadow game and that he'd never be the same again. Ryou smiled,

"Well that makes sense. Derek told me that someone was feeding you lies but I didn't think it was someone who looked like me," he sighed, "I'm just glad that thing didn't hurt any of you. Oh, by the way. I've got some gifts for you." With that he pulled out the pack of cards which were separated into fives by ellastics. He gave Yugi a pack of an australian Dark Magician, Dark Magician girl, Kuribo, swords of light and a magic card he'd never seen before called The Pharaoh's Calling. Joey got a Panther Warrior, flame swordsman, baby dragon, rocket warrior and a magic card called Spirit Of Fire. The others got some equally interesting cards that suited their personalities each with a special magic card they'd never seen before.

"Wow, d'ese em cool," Joey stated. "Hey Yug', does your Dark Magician look like your own?" Yugi lifted the Dark Magician card up and showed him the magician was standing with his staff raised in front of him in an attacking position, a different pose for the same card.

"These are cool Ryou, thanks," Tea smiled as she looked at her Magician of Faith card. Ryou smiled,

"Thought you guys would like them. I got myself a whole new deck with alot less cards that say 'Yami Bakura' all over them." He'd never really liked his dark side's choice in cards. He glanced at Kara then took out the necklace and put it around her neck.

Kara rested the five cards she'd received in her lap, as Ryou closed the clasp behind her neck. She raised her hand above the height of her own millennium item, and touched the fine beaded necklace. It was made of small clear quartz crystal beads, with a small shiny seashell at the very centre. It sat nicely around her neck, and looked a lot differnt from her other necklaces.

"It's lovely Ryou, thank you," she told him and pecked him lightly on the cheek, despite the fact that the others were watching and grinning to themselves, included Yami who couldn't help but smirk at the show of affection. Ryou blushed then thought about what his father had said. What the heck right? He took her chin and and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss ignoring the fact that the others were still there.

Joey's mouth nearly hit the floor in shock, this was the same Ryou wasn't it? The one who was unbelievably shy? Tea and Yugi turned and smirked at each other, they'd seen this coming for a long time. Duke and Tristan actually fell off the arms of the chair they were sitting on next to Tea, while Yami turned around out of respect. None of them were as surprised as Kara though, she'd never expected Ryou to ever do such a thing. Her eyes had widened substantially from their normally semi-narrow shape, to full blown surprise. She returned the kiss obviously, knowing she liked him that way to. Her millennium item shimmered very slightly at the eye in response to her warmed up feelings, and a blush appeared on her cheeks. She blinked as they both pulled away, turning her head away as she tried to surpress the bright red blush.

Ryou smiled slightly and turned so the others couldn't see his face. Maybe taking his fathers advise at this moment hadn't been the smartest thing he'd ever done but it sure got his point across. He chanced a glance at the still shocked Kara as his face flushed. Kara had managed to force her blush away, but the shock remained in the back of her eyes. It was Joey who said something though.

"Aww, that's so cute ain't it?" he asked teasingly as he walked over to Ryou and punched him playfully in the shoulder. "We knew you like her, I mean it certainly took ya long enough to show it."

Derek had gotten up earlier than the narrator predicted. He decided to go over to Ryou's place, see if he had been cleared. He peered through several windows, decided that the only one home was his dad, then strolled over to the Kame Game Shop. He looked through the windows, and it seemed everyone had made up. He nodded satisfactorily, then, leaning against the glass, he was surprised by what he saw. Was Ryou kissing that girl? The shy Ryou, Hikari to the spirit of the Millennium Ring? Derek leaned closer and at that moment Kara's Millennium Item glowed extra bright, and the window shattered. Derek dived down and hid in a bush. He thought he would burst out laughing any moment. He heard voices through the window, speculating what happened. They'll never know, he thought, still containing his laughter.

Ryou bit his lip and crossed his arms over his chest in a self-concious way. Then glanced over at the now broken window. He glanced over at Yugi and lifted an eyebrow. Then grabbed a glass of water that had been siting on the table and passed it over to Yugi with a slight smirk and a wink. Yugi grinned mischieviously and nodded, before walking over to the now shattered window and pouring the glass of water out of it, before hurriedly returning to his seat, whilst the others snickered quietly at the sudden yelp of surprise coming from outside.

Derek watched Yugi pouring the water out the window and grinned. Turnabout was fair play. He grabbed the garden hose and was about to spray through the open window when his conscience kicked in. He replaced the hose, and walked off.

* * *

R&R for more. 


	6. Shrouded Shadow

Disclaimer: Same as the first 5 chapters.

Special message: Thanks again to my friends BMK and Jaesai for such great chapters.

* * *

"This is really annoying," said Derek through gritted teeth, as the gang of kids circled him warily. "What are you going to do about it, punk?" one of them called out mockingly.  
"This!" Derek shouted as he charged forward and sank his fist in the other kid's stomach. The others instantly closed in. Derek let out a cry of anger and charged forward...  
"Boy this is the worst case I've seen in a while," mumbled a kid to another. The other replied, "Yeah, I haven't seen this many kids this hurt since, well, never."  
  
The vice principal growled under his breath,

"I'll get you, Derek Boltra. Even if I can't prove it now, I'll get you." He walked past Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Duke, who were waiting for Ryou and Kara to come out. The others looked around nervously.

The five friends watched the vice-principal saunter past, muttering something under his breath before he disappeared into the school. Joey snickered quietly and shook his head as Derek stood near by, regaining his breath.  
"Doesn't he know your supposed ta fight AWAY from school?" he asked.  
"Dunno," Tristan shrugged as they heard footsteps behind them. Turning the group saw Kara and Ryou heading out of the school, hand in hand as per usual, now anyway.  
"Hey guys what's up?" Yugi called brightly.  
"Nothing much," Kara responded as she looked around at all the stunned students. "Err, Derek get into a fight again?"  
"Yup," Tea nodded. "Let's not get involved though, fighting doesn't help anything."  
"Yeah, who's up for a burger?" Duke called. "I'm buying!"  
"Then we're definitely up," Joey laughed. "Or is it just us five?" He turned to Kara and Ryou as he said this, a smirk playing across his face.  
"I'm sure you two have better things to do," he commented as he motioned to their held hands. Both the other sennen item holders blushed slightly and hurriedly shook their heads.  
"No we'll come," Kara smiled.  
"Cool."

Derek, gaining some semblance of normal breathing, headed down the street. Hey, I heard there was a carnival in town, he thought. Maybe I'll go cool off there. He changed his direction, heading down an alley.

Ryou stopped suddenly,

"Why don't we head to the carnival? We can pick something up on the way. The food there costs too much." As he said this he motioned to a poster taped to a tree nearby. He smiled at Kara then glanced at the others. He'd wanted to go there since he heard it was coming to town. Kara giggled as she leant against Ryou's side, her book bag dangling loosely in her left hand.

"You are a big kid at heart aren't you?" she asked. Ryou simply nodded his head and smiled, it was easier to do now that Yami Bakura wasn't around anymore. He had his friends around and a girlfriend, and he cared about all of them. Yugi and the others looked over the poster, and after much debate they decided it was a great idea and picking some food up on the way, headed over to the carnival.

{Yugi what is a carnival?} asked Yami through their link.

[It's a sort of massive arena of games and entertainment] Yugi responded, putting it in terms Yami would understand. [You have games like a shooting gallery, and ball throw and the hoop la and a lot even have rides like rollercoasters and ferris wheels, but the rollercoasters are usually at the big ones. This isn't that big]

{I see} Yugi smiled.

The group reached the carnival and walked into the grounds; it was bigger than they expected but still pretty small in size for Domino City. It didn't take long for Joey and Tristan to find a ball throwing game, and decided to show the others their skills. Joey went first and with a hefty throw, knocked all 6 bottles down, as did Tristan.

"Nice shots guys," Tea cheered as the man behind the stand gave them each a prize for winning.

"Serenity will love this teddy bear," Joey told the others.

"That's sweet Joey," Yugi chimed as Tristan passed the doll he'd won to Tea.

{Yugi, is this ball throw?} Yami enquired.

[Yes, you want to have a go?] Yugi grinned, knowing Yami would like a chance. Yami nodded and Yugi allowed him to take over.

It was only Kara and Ryou who noticed the subtle changes to the tri-haired teen, but they said nothing as Yami handed some money to the man and picked up a ball. Using Yugi's knowledge of what he had to do, and having seen Joey and Tristan have a go he threw the ball and knocked the 6 bottles right off the shelf.

[Nice shot] Yugi complemented.

"The king of games strikes again!" Joey laughed as the man handed Yami a board game.

"You seem like the type," he told the tri-haired teen.

"Why don't you have a go Ryou?" Kara asked. "It looks simple enough."

Ryou shook his head,

"I've got terrible aim but I guess I'll try anyway." It took Ryou two shots to take down all six pins. He got a cat plushie as his prize and gave it to Kara,

"I heard there was a duelling arena here if you guys want to check it out." He knew at least Joey, Yugi and Yami would agree to going there.

"I heard there was this massive dueling arena!"

"No way! Really?"

"Yeah, KC decided to put one in for the Carnival!"

"Wow, that's cool!"

"Yeah, wanna go check it out?"

"Sweet!" Joey cried startling the rest of the group, who hurriedly took a few steps away from him. "Luckily I have my faithful deck with me. How about you Yugi?"

"I never leave home without it," Yugi told him as he patted his pocket.

"Cool, it sounds like fun to watch a duel," Kara smiled. "Although let's not go straight away, we only just got here and there's so much left to see."

"And you were calling Ryou a kid at heart," Tea laughed. "You're as bad."

Kara laughed.

"I used to love carnivals, this is the first one i've been to in the last few years. I'm a master at the hoop la myself."

"I prefer rides," Tea responded. "Although cotton candy isn't off the list."

"Hey, what's say we go and get some cotton candy?" Kara asked.

"Cool," Tea laughed. "They have Dance Revolution in the arcade tent to."

Joey and the others chuckled at the two girls enthusiasm.

"You do that if ya want," Joey told them. "I'd much rather have a duel."

"Yeah and we'll watch," Duke chuckled. Kara and Tea smiled at each other.

"Ok," Tea grinned as she grabbed Kara's free arm. "If we're finished by then we'll come by the dueling arena, if not we'll meet you at the free throw game."

"I guess i'll see you later Ryou," Kara smiled lightly pecking him on the cheek. "I have a feeling Dance Revolution isn't your thing." That said she released her boyfriend's arm, and allowed Tea to drag her off in the way of the cotton candy and hoop la stands, which were half way across the carnival grounds. The boys sweat dropped slightly, and headed towards the dueling arena.

Derek listened as he walked through the carnival eating cotton candy. Hmm, a dueling arena, he thought.

"Well, I do have my deck..." he mumbled to himself. "I'll go check it out," he decided.

Derek laughed. It was the first time in a long time that he had enjoyed himself. "Nice try, but it's over," he said as his dragon eliminated the remainder of his opponent's Life Points. Yugi, Joey, Duke and Tristan watched in surprise. Derek didn't seem like much of a duelist at first, except on the first day they met, when he told Yugi about his many victories. They continued to watch as he deftly disposed of two more duellist in a two-on-one, an attempt to give him his first loss for the day. Needless to say, he annihilated them. He then spotted Yugi and the others.  
"Hey," he called. "I hope you're enjoying yourselves. Want a duel?" This last part was directed at Joey. "Sure thing," he replied, wearing a confident smile. "Bring it on, Derek."  
  
Meanwhile Kara and Tea were having a good time by themselves, they'd got themselves some cotton candy and were busily eating it off the cone, while they had a go at the hoop l. Having handed her sweet treat to Kara, Tea tried and hooked three out of the three hoops over three numbered pins. Gaining herself 35 points, and a medium sized duel monsters plushie of her choice. She pointed out to a Dunames Dark Witch, and the man handed it to her. Sliding it under her arm, she took her cotton candy from Kara and held hers, while she had her turn. Kara hadn't been lying when she said she was good at the game, especially since she got the hoops over 3 of the pegs numbered with a fifteen and got the highest score. The man pointed out the big duel monster plushies, and handed Kara Amazoness Paladin plush.

"Kara that was amazing," Tea chimed handing her her candy back as the girl picked up the plush and her school backpack.

"Thanks, so where shall we go next?"

"I suggest we sit down, eat the rest of these. Rest for a moment then go on Dance Revolution," Tea responded.

"I'm down with that," Kara agreed as they sat down and began working their way through the stick and puffy candy. "I wander how the boys are doing."

"Sorry, Joey," said Derek. "Armed Dragon LV7, attack Gilford the Lightening! Armed Dragon LV5, attack Jinzo! And finally, Armed Dragon LV3, finish off his Life Points!" Joey winced as his two monsters collided in suicide attacks with Derek's dragons, then as the last dragon hurtled toward him, he watched his Life Point meter fall to 0.  
"That was a good duel, Joey," said Derek sportingly. Joey smiled as they disconnected their Duel Disks from the computer. "Yeah, I suppose," he added cheerfully. "But I thought you were gonna duel Yugi," he added, frowning as Derek stowed away his left-handed Duel Disk.  
"That's a cool Duel Disk, Derek. Did you build it yourself? Are you left-handed?" asked Yugi, curious.  
"Actually, I'm ambidextrous," he replied, then catching the looks on Joey and Tristan's faces, he added, "That means I can use both hands equally well. And yeah, I did build this one myself," he said, turning the green-and-black Duel Disk around before replacing it in his bag.

"Besides, I ought to let some other people have a go. There's only one arena," he said, laughing.  
"How about Yugi and Ryou? That would make for an interesting duel," Duke chipped in. Tristan and Joey nodded in agreement. Yugi looked unsure of himself. "What do you say, Ryou?"  
"You know i'm not very good, but if you insist I'll go," Ryou said calmly taking out his new Australian deck. He had a bit of an advantage over Yugi considering he had quite a few new cards that the group had never seen. He'd also gotten the chance to duel a few Australian teens and get the hang of his new deck.  
"This ought to be good," laughed Derek as he sat down with Joey and the others.

Meanwhile Kara and Tea had finished eating their cotton candy, and had waited a while before heading across to the arcade tent just a few yards behind them. Tea was really hyped up to go on the dance revolution machine at the time, but with the small queue of mainly girls and a guy or two they had to wait.

"This'll be fun," Tea told Kara as they waited for the recent pair on the game to finish dancing.

"Yeah, although I hope it is only for fun, this sort of dancing isn't my thing," Kara admitted.

Eventually when the two teens currently on the game had finished dancing, Tea and Kara placed their things down beside the machine where one of the officials could watch them. Apparently the game was quite popular since a crow controller was needed. The music flared up and the small lights danced around, and both girls began to dance. Tea was actually surprised as Kara kept up with her, although she was using totally different moves to touch the lights compared to her own. Some she recognised as ballet steps.

"Wow, that was so close," Tea panted when the music and game ended and they stepped down to retrieve their things.

"Yeah, you were great Tea," Kara told her.

"But I only won by a tiny bit. You're good. I didn't know you danced.

"I do, just a little," Kara admitted. "Hey, what do you say we have one more game of something then go and join the guys?"

"Sounds fun, but what?"

"How about target?" Kara asked. "I noticed one of the prizes is a Change of Heart plush and I want to get one for Ryou."

"Cool, let's go."

Tea led the way, practically skipping through the carnival with Kara walking quickly to keep up.

"They really did go for the duel monsters thing for some of these things this year didn't they?" Tea chimed.

"It's popular, what better way to attract customers," Kara responded. "Although it is only on the left side, the others are all normal prizes like games, coconuts and goldfish." Tea nodded as they reached the target game. In this game they had to throw three balls and hit a target, Tea hit two out of three, as did Kara. Tea chose a cute Dark Magician plush, planning on giving it to Yugi and Kara got the Change of Heart she wanted for Ryou.

"Now that's done," Tea piped up. "Let's go and see what the guys are up to." That said both girls headed off to the duelling arena.

After a half hour Ryou was winning the duel but he knew that wouldn't last. Yugi, or rather Yami, always won in the end. People watching looked excitedly on. Everyone knew Yugi was the current champion and to see him loose would be amazing. Not that seeing him win would be bad. Ryou smirked as he drew his favourite card,

"I use the Change of heart card on your dark magician." Yugi felt worried that his favourite monster was now in the possession of his opponent, but Yami was nonplussed. Don't worry, aibou, he told Yugi. He had a plan.

As the boys carried on with their duel, Kara and Tea found the others sitting in the side stands watching them. Both waved quietly to the seated boys, as they walked over and sat down beside them.

"Move over a bit Tristan," Tea whispered. "Give some space for Kara to sit down."

"That's all right Tea," Kara whispered back. "I'll sit here by Joey." Kara sat down and placed her things at her feet, and both plushies on her lap just as Tea did.

"Who's winning?" asked Tea softly.

"Ryou at the moment," Tristan responded. "But I think Yugi has a plan to turn things around."

'You mean Yugi AND Yami' Kara thought, as she glanced at the tri-haired teens sharpened eyes and extra blonde highlights.

"Ok dark magician, attack Yugi's life points," Ryou said calmly as Yugi's favoured card attacked him bringing down his life points. Ryou glanced over to the girls and nodded with a smile. This duel was getting long. Yugi or rather Yami gave the girls a simple nod, and turned his attention straight back to the duel. Both Tea and Kara chuckled quietly, with Kara passing a wink to Ryou.

"How long have they been duelling?" Kara asked.

"Nearly forty minutes," Duke responded. Both girls sweatdropped.

A few minutes later, the duel was over and, as usual, Yugi had made a come back and won. The two stepped down with quite a few players begging Yugi to duel them. Ryou chuckled and left the short teen and wandered over to the group.  
"Impressive," said Derek clapping his hands slowly. "You'd win loads of tournaments, no sweat," he added, grinning at Ryou flushing. "Well, I'd better be going, before someone ambushes me again. Catch ya'll later," he said, and loped off.  
"That was amazing!" Kara exclaimed as she threw her arms around Ryou's neck and hugged him. "What I saw of the duel anyway." She hurriedly turned round and picked up the Change of Heart plush she'd won, and placed it in Ryou's hands.

"I won this for you," she told him with a slight blush. "I thought you'd like it."

"Thanks," he smiled kissing her on the cheek then glanced over at Yugi and sighed, "Think he needs help?"  
  
Fans surrounded poor Yugi, and people who wanted to duel him. Kara laughed and nodded.

"Hey guys!" she yelled to the large group of fans and duelists. "Look up there!" Instantly as if by magic the whole crowd looked up. Kara was usually against using her Millennium Item for trivial things, but Yugi was pretty much in need of help right now. Closing her eyes, she called on the Sennen Crescents power and before the fans could look down again, Yugi seemed to vanish into thin air.

"Look up at what?" asked a duelist.

"Oh it's nothing," Kara grinned. "Just thought I saw something unusual." The duelists sighed and turned to see that Yugi had disappeared, groaning they all scattered and left the building. Only when the last one had gone, did Kara call her powers back.

"Kara, I owe you one," Yugi laughed as he joined them.

"No big," Kara smiled as she retrieved her things and took hold of Ryou's hand. "Just happy to help."

"Sorry about leaving you in the middle of all that Yugi," Ryou chuckled then sighed as they headed out of the duelling area, "So where to now? Want to check out some rides or head home for the day?"  
"I say we head home for the day," Tea responded. "Kara and I looked at the rides as we walked around to the games we played. They have dodgem cars, a medium sized Ferris wheel, and some kids rides, the topsy turvy spinner, a carousel and a twirling thing."

"Ferris wheels aren't so bad," Yugi laughed lightly.

"The topsy turvy spinner would be a bad idea," Tristan groaned then sighed when the others looked at him curiously. "Let's just say I have bad memories concerning it." The others sweat dropped, and agreeing that heading home was better they all left the park.

It was dark by then anyway, and best to get home even though they could stay out till way into the evening if they wanted to. Kara yawned as she sported her two plushies in one arm, since she was still holding Ryou's hand with her other one. She was slightly smaller than the white haired teen, and took the advantage to rest her head on his shoulder. Joey looked at them quietly, before shaking his head.

"That's sweet," he muttered quietly, as a small grin appeared on his face.

"What's wrong Joey? Jealous?" Ryou chuckled still holding his own plushie in his other hand.  
"No I am no jealous," Joey says, "I'd have you know I could get any gurl I wan'ed."  
Tristan chuckled,

"Yeah right. I'd like to see that."  
"Girl's love a good duellist," Joey said, "an I happen ta be one."  
"Right," Tristan muttered as the whole group sweatdropped.

Kara laughed as she lifted up her head.

"Joey," she stated simply. "Take it FROM a girl, not all girls like a good duellist. Some like tough fighting guys, others like the sweet soulful guy etc etc." She lowered her head into the crook of Ryou's neck quite happily, grinning at the sandy blonde haired teen.

"You can probably guess the type of guy I prefer." Joey sweatdropped himself and sighed.

"Ya well," he stated coolly. "Although out of curiosity Ryou? What is your secret to getting girls to like you? I mean don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you're not exactly the most outgoing guy i've ever known."

Ryou shrugged then shook his head, "Come on Joey. I know for a fact that there's at least one girl out there who's got eyes for you." He was speaking of Mai Valentine of course. It was as plain as the nose on the blondes face that she liked him. Of course, Joey wasn't exactly in tune with the blond girls subliminal messages so he still had no idea. Kara looked around at all her friends, who were giggling quietly under their breath, she had no idea who Ryou was talking about and obviously Joey didn't either. Curious she whispered her question to Ryou, who quietly explained about Mai. Kara knew who Mai was as she admired her her for her duelling skills, she was amazing to have done so well in so many tournaments, and she'd always dreamed of meeting her. To find out that it was obvious she'd met and liked Joey was amazing as well.

"I hope I meet her then," Joey mumbled. "She's pretty shy if she does like me." The others stared at him in disbelief, how could he be THAT blind.

Looking at his watch, Yugi nearly choked.

"Oh great, it's nearly 7:45, i've got to get home before my grandpa worries himself sick. I'll see you guys!" he called as he took off and ran down an opposite street.

"He will be all right won't he?" asked Kara softly.

"I should think so," Tea nodded as she made a pyramid shape with her hands, and Kara nodded in understanding.

"Then we'll go home to," Joey yawned. "School in the morning, and I still have some Math's homework to do." That said he and Tristan disappeared down another street, leaving Tea, Kara and Ryou alone, laughing.

"He'll be like that forever," Kara laughed. "Well I live quite a way myself, i'll go and catch the next bus home or i'll be walking till 9. Bye Ryou." She placed a momentary kiss on his lips and took off towards a bus stop quite a way down the street. "Bye Tea."

Both waved, till eventually both seperated and headed off home themselves.

Ryou walked into his empty house and sighed. It was lonely but much better then having his dark half around. He yawned and headed up stairs to do some homework. Once that was done he made himself a snack and went to bed.

Derek was heading to school, for another full day of detention. He was walking right behind Yugi and the gang, and a little further ahead from Ryou and Kara, who were lagging behind, for who knew what reason cough, cough. He had barely walked through the door when the vice principal Mr. Bakashi clapped a hand on Derek's shoulder, and turned him around. Derek gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Why hello, Mr. Bakashi, how lovely to see you. I'll be on my way to detention now, I think."  
"I don't need your wisecracks, Boltra. Finally, I've got you. Not even you can worm yourself out of this one," he snapped, shoving Derek unnecessarily.  
"What are you talking about?" asked Derek, dropping all pretense of joking. Kara and Ryou, who had passed the arguing pair and were at the corner, turned around. Yugi and the rest had gone on ahead and turned the corner, heading down the next hallway, chatting happily.  
"I'm talking about what you did here after school," snarled the vice principal. "You've already been in a good number of fights, and parents have been complaining. This time, you're in big trouble. Come into my office, and I'll tell you what happened, though you already know, I'm sure." He grabbed the student and pushing him down another hallway, disappeared through a door.  
  
Slamming the door behind him, he plopped down into his chair, and snapped at Derek, "Sit." Derek, however, remained standing.  
"Whatever you have to say, I'm sure I don't have to stay very long," he said coldly, giving Mr. Bakashi a nasty gaze.  
"On the contrary," sneered Mr. Bakashi, "but I'll get to the point. Yesterday, after school, at 3:30, you got into another fight, as usual."  
"Yeah, so?" asked Derek.  
"Don't interrupt me," growled the vice principal dangerously. "Anyways, you somehow escaped my attention as the students you mauled were being taken away to the hospital."  
"Yeah, but-"  
"I JUST SAID DON'T INTERRUPT ME!!" roared Mr. Bakashi, jumping up and spraying Derek with spit. Breathing very hard, he sat back down. "You injured some thirty-odd students. The injuries range from broken limbs-"  
"To scratches and bruising, I know, I know," Derek mumbled in a bored manner.  
"Wrong," hissed Mr. Bakashi. "The injuries range from broken limbs to severe brain damage." Derek looked confused.

"What? I-"  
"Shut up! You are in serious trouble! You've done so much damage that I can just suspend you, and if I'm not in a good mood, expel you!" shouted Mr. Bakashi. "Apparently, from these thirty-something witnesses, you slammed skulls into the walls, and even when half the students were down, you deliberately worsened their injuries by stepping on their bodies and throwing them viciously at the walls. You also beat another few students against the walls, so that the walls were smeared with blood." Derek looked on in disbelief. He hadn't done any of that. Perhaps he had amnesia, or didn't know his own strength?  
"Also, you apparently continued beating them so hard, that when you left much later, they were not able to get their injuries to my attention till 5:00," whispered the vice principal.  
"But-" started Derek, to defend himself.  
"SILENCE!" yelled the vice principal. Clearing his throat, he continued, "As for your punishment to this horrifying deed, this is going on your record, and you will be suspended-"  
"Oh good," sighed Derek, relieved.  
"I'm not done! As I was saying, you will be suspended for two weeks, until your hearing in front of the Board of Education, who will decide whether to simply expel you, or to allow parents to press further charges, and send you to juvenile hall- Oh, wait, you are of age, so, whether to charge your for assault, and send you to jail."  
  
His last words rang in the office. Derek sat there, horrified. He hadn't done any of that, he was sure of it, and as he stood there, looking into the smirking face of the vice principal, he knew that he would not be pardoned. He could barely hear the principal mentioning that his punishment would start now and that he had better go home now. Dreamlike, he stood up, and walked out of the office, and out of the school, and he imagined that he was heading into the maw of a monster.

Kara and Ryou had continued walking to their homeroom class with Mr. Hanusami after they'd seen the vice-principal walk off to his office with Derek, still hand in hand as usual. They walked to their seats and sat down, whilst putting their bags down beside them.

"What kept you?" asked Tristan curiously.

"The vice principal started yelling at Derek, again," Kara responded. "And he looked properly ticked offf." Ryou nodded in agreement to Kara's statement.

"Hey Kara, you talking about that guy Derek?" asked her friend Jessie from behind her. Kara turned and simply nodded.

"Do you know why the vice principal is so ticked off? It's because apparently Derek caused some injuries in a fight yesterday that consisted of more than broken bones. Brain damage was suspected." That made the others wince, and questioning Jessie as to when this happened she said it was after school and well after 4pm. Kara and the group looked at each other, that couldn't be possible Derek was long gone from school by then, wasn't he?

"I don't like that," Duke muttered. "I know Derek or have heard he can be a bit brutish, but brain damage?"

"Sounds too far fetched for me," Tea agreed. Ryou and Yugi turned and gave Kara a look, and she nodded slightly. She didn't need verbal words to understand what they would ask her

"I'll check later," she mouthed to them. Ryou knew Derek could be rough but he'd never once seen the boy attack someone for no reason and he'd never seen him hurt anyone that badly. A few bruises here and there and a few broken noses much not much worse then that. It didn't sound like something Derek would do.

Later that day, after the gang had found out where this whole incident was supposed to have happened, they wandered around the site, staring at the walls. They still had a light red colouring on them from blood, but most of it had been washed off by then. Kara wandered the area, her necklace glowing as it tried to find the truth to the whole painful thing.

"Anything?" Yugi asked.

"Well from what I can tell," Kara responded. "I found several vibes here, some Derek's, some students, but there's one i'm not sure off. Like it's a mystery or something."

"So that necklace of yours finds things?" asked Joey, still trying to comprehend the powers of the Kara's sennen item.

"Yes, it finds anything from lost objects to lost answers," Kara responded turning her head for a moment.

"Oh cool."

Ushio the bully waited at the corner of the alley, fidgeting nervously. He nearly collapsed with relief as he saw Dick, the smallest of his gang running up to him. "Good news, boss," he said as he stopped short, trying to catch his breath. "Bakashi got him. He says he's in big trouble, and I think we're well shot of him," he finished breathlessly.  
"You did a good job, Shroud," said Ushio to a dark, foreboding figure standing behind them all. He was trying to look brave as he spoke, but failing spectacularly. His minions were similarly cowering in fear.  
"I did your job," said the one who called himself Shroud. His voice was a whisper, like a death rattle. He was shrouded in a black cloak and hood that covered every inch of his body. "I've hurt those who you called your rivals, and implicated Derek Boltra as the criminal. And now I want my payment," he hissed venomously.  
"It wasn't easy, but here," said Ushio, gulping as he and the three others gave Dick a little push. "H-h-here, I g-got it, Mr. Shroud," he said, his voice coming out a squeak, with a cloth-wrapped package in his badly shaking hands. Shroud reached out and his hand poked out of the cloak, causing Ushio and his gang to wince. It was dead looking, pale white, and rather disgusting. Shroud pulled off the cloth covering to reveal the Derek's Millennium Book. "Excellent," he murmured.  
"You got what you wanted, and your revenge on Derek, you can clear out now," said Ushio, trying to sound brave. "We just wanna know, why do you wear that cloak all the time? You afraid that if you see the light you'll die?" Ushio made a bad attempt at scornful laughter, but it died on his lips as Shroud slowly turned his attention from the Millennium Book to Ushio, now trembling very badly indeed.  
"You want to know?" he said in a deathly tone. "Here." He pulled off his cloak in one fell swoop. Ushio and his gang could not help it. They screamed as one.  
  
The Shroud's body was disgusting. Rotted and white, wearing a black cloth around his hips and black shoe's, he gave off this aura of deadness, like rotten fish. His face was disfigured and pale, and his single bulging eye a fierce, burning, deranged red. His limbs looked different from each other, he had a twisted nose and mouth, and his ears were mounted at different heights. He looked nothing like a human being at all, with his shrunken chest, his protruding ribs, his pinched midriff, his thin, bony, limbs, all different in appearance. His long white hair, with the slightest resemblance to Ryou's hung dead and limp, to the small of his back. The thing that was most different about him, however, was his left eye. Or what had replaced it. What now resided in his left eye socket glowed gold, and Ushio and his gang screamed once more, louder than before, then fell silent before slumping to the ground.  
  
The Millennium Eye glinted as Shroud swung his cloak back around his body.

"Fools," he muttered. He examined the book closely then grinned ferally. Laughing insanely, he swirled his cloak, and disappeared, but not before the sound of his laughter had died in the alley. Instead, it got louder, so it echoed through the city, and then there was... silence.

Ryou sighed as he looked around then glanced at Kara,

"Kara, use your item to find out were Derek was at 4:00 when this happened. If we know we may be able to find a way to clear him." He just hoped that wherever Derek had been, it had been around other people and not in some other kind of trouble.

Kara closed her eyes and attempted to find out where Derek had been at 4pm, but it wasn't the easiest of tasks. The guy wasn't exactly open about where he went after school hours, but eventually the vibrations she wanted came to her and she opened her eyes.

"He was dueling at the carnival at 4pm," she told them as the items glow died down and disappeared completely. "But how are we going to prove it? I mean we can hardly go to the vice-principal and say, we know Derek is innocent because we found out with our magical pendants. He'd think we were all cuckoo."

"Correction, he'd think you three are cuckoo," Joey corrected. "You're the only ones WITH items, remember?"

"He's right," Duke agreed as Kara picked up her backpack in preparation for their afternoon classes. "Which means we have to find another way to prove he didn't do anything."

"How about we see if the dueling arena at the carnival has video cameras?" Yugi suggested.

"Great idea," Duke agreed. Hearing the bell ring, the others grabbed their bags and hurried back to class for the afternoon. Two more hours then they could go and see about those videotapes. Kara however was still worried about those strange vibes she'd found earlier, they were evil and cold and simply didn't belong in the grounds of the school to begin with.

The afternoon classes went by fast enough and Ryou collected his things and headed out to meet the others so they could head back to the carnival. Ryou just hoped that they'd be able to find the information they needed to clear Derek. He wondered at that moment were Derek was. He most likely had no idea they knew what had happened and that they were trying to help him out. He felt obligated to help Derek in a way seeing as the older boy had helped save him from his dark half. He sighed as he got outside and saw the group waiting by the tree, minus Kara. She must still be getting her stuff he supposed.

"I'm sorry," said the old man on duty. "We just don't hold with such things," he added gently. Derek slammed his fist into the wall, teeth gritted. No security cameras! There went his only way out.  
"Are there... other ways of verifying a person's presence?" asked Derek tentatively. The old man looked thoughtful. Whatever this boy was involved in, he wouldn't ask. That wasn't his job. He would just attempt to provide as much assistance as possible. "Well," he started slowly. "There could be one way. You could use the Kaiba Corp. records to determine any active duels at the time in question, providing that they allow you to access their records." Derek's face fell at these last few words.

"Or," continued the old man, "You could use their tracking system... to track your- I mean, someone's Duel Disk." Derek looked thoughtful. Sure, his Duel Disk wasn't registered with KC, so it couldn't be tracked, unless it was in a duel with a KC Duel Disk. Everyone he had duelled had a KC Duel Disk the computer they connected their Duel Disks to had to have that information. Add that to the fact that his Duel Disk had a different frequency, and his innocence was in the bag. Suddenly, Derek's hopes fell further than a skydiver. His reputation for his computer skills made it so that any evidence that he submitted would be overturned. The argument against him would be too clear, he had sabotaged the evidence to clear himself. Besides, he still had not gotten around to fixing his laptop, so even if he was going to, he could not retrieve the information he needed. If he did hack into KC's mainframe, he would be in even more trouble than when he started. Dejected, he headed home.  
  
When he got in the door, he was unpleasantly surprised to see the window busted open. After a painstaking search, he realized what was missing: his book. He collapsed face down on his bed. Could this day get any worse? Knowing his luck, yes.  
His last words before he fell asleep were,

"I am so, so, screwed..."

* * *

R& R if you want to see what happens next.


	7. Darkness Reformed

Disclaimer: Same as on other pages.

Special notice: Yet another great chapter done with my friends BMK and Jaesai.

(note: Yugi and Yami's conversation is marked by forward and backward facing brackets)

* * *

Kara sighed as she stopped by her locker and retrieved her gym bag, it was Thursday after all, and she had ballet class that afternoon. She had it Tuesday afternoons as well, along with most of the day on Sunday's. She knew she was supposed to help the others help Derek, but her ballet was just as important to her as she had studied it since she was a little girl. Picking up her homework, she closed her locker and pulled her purple gym bag off the floor. She knew the others would be waiting for her, so she hurried out of the building. 

Seeing them waiting by a tree, she waved to them and ran to join them. She'd since told the others that she did ballet, but aside from them and her family no one else knew.

"Hey guys," she called brightly. "Hey, I know i'm meant to help and all today, but..." She hefted her gym bag and sighed.

"That's ok," Yugi smiled. "We can meet up later and discuss things, or i'm sure we can call you and let you know what happens."

"You're a sweetheart," Kara smiled as she looked at her watch and found that the bus would be there in a few minutes.

"See you soon guys!" she called. "I'll try and figure things out my end if I can." That said she disappeared out of the school grounds and down the street.

"Well, let's focus on getting to the carnival," Duke announced. "Then maybe we can help Derek." The others nodded, and headed back towards the carnival. Ryou nodded as the group headed out of the schoolyard and headed in the direction of the carnival in hopes of finding evidence of their friends innocence.  
  
Ryou sighed as they walked. Things never seemed to be dull around here. If it wasn't an ancient Egyptian problem it was another kind of problem. He knew just as well as the others that their vice principal had been on Derek's case from the beginning. He started to wonder if he hadn't set this up just to get rid of the 'adolescent trouble maker'.

Kara sighed as she rode her bus to her ballet class, she wanted to be there to help Ryou and the others, but she didn't want to get into trouble for missing a class either. Eventually her bus turned the corner to her stop and she got off, and made her way to the dance studio. Walking into the nice and old style decorated building; she wandered into the changing room nearly knocking her friend Micky over.

"Sorry Micky," Kara apologized as she sidestepped around her.

"No problem Kara," the girl smiled back as she dumped her bag on the bench.

"So, not hanging around with your guy today?" she asked mischievously.

"You know I can't," Kara groaned. "My mother would ground me for a week if I skipped a class to hang out with Ryou."

"But young love is so sweet," a voice chipped in as her other friend Emily-Jane leant around the corner, startling the two.

"Yeah my mom thinks so to, but she'd still ground me."

Kara sighed as she easily changed into her blue ballet dress, and sat down to pull her matching slippers on. She was tying the ribbon on her right slipper around her ankle when her mind wandered to what her friends might be doing. _I wander if they're having any luck _she thought as she began tying the other ribbon. She'd done this routine so many times that she'd tied both slippers on without realizing it, and only snapped out of her thoughts when Micky shook her.

"Come on Kara," she urged. "Miss. Amari's waiting." Sighing Kara got up, took her sennen item off and locked it with her things in her locker, before joining her friends in the dance studio.

Ryou stopped suddenly and glanced at Yugi as he felt a strange feeling go through him. It felt like shadow magic to him and he bit his lip. Just what they needed, Ancient Egyptian trouble along with the trouble they already had. Yugi also stopped as he'd felt the strange feeling to and turned his head to look back at Ryou, who looked really worried and he could hazard a guess as to why. Moments later Yugi felt Yami tense up inside the Millennium Puzzle, the ancient spirit wasn't happy about something, but what was that something? Finding the answers they needed right now was hard enough, having this around would only cause extra problems.

Kara who was in the middle of a pirouette also felt a very light and strange feeling move over her skin, as if her skin was prickling. She wasn't even wearing her sennen item, but she'd been around it for quite a while now and could tell shadow magic or similarities without it being around her neck. Losing concentration she fell out of her spin and almost knocked Emily over.

"Miss. Hiroshi!" Miss. Amari spoke up immediately. "Are you all right? You look a little worried."

"It's nothing miss," Kara hastened to assure her, being thankful that her teacher was a kind woman who didn't yell at people for anything and everything. "I just lost my concentration for a second that's all." The teacher accepted her answer, but before Kara went back to her dancing, she had to wander what was going on.

Back with the others, the others had carried on walking, not realizing that Yugi and Ryou had stopped till they were nearly at the carnival gates and turned to see them still at the top of the street, so they went back to join them. Ryou sighed and chanced a glance back at Yugi, "Guess we better check it out." He glanced at his millennium ring and it began to glow faintly and the points pointed them back down the street the way they'd come, "It's a millennium item alright."  
"Great," Yugi groaned as the others reached them. "What Millennium Item could be causing such a fuss this time?"

"More importantly how many of those things are d'er?" Joey asked hearing what Yugi had just said. "I thought d'er were only seven."

"So did we," Yugi agreed as they headed back down the street. "But more sprung up recently, incase you haven't forgotten, Kara's necklace for one. It would be helpful if she was here right now, we could use her necklaces powers."

Kara was wishing she could help to, but being stuck at her ballet class for two hours after school took her away from it. Sighing she gracefully jumped across the dance floor and turned another pirouette, before landing on one knee. Be careful she thought to the others, knowing that both Ryou and Yugi would not like this turn of events much.

"You don't think it could be him do you? He did take the millennium eye with him after all," he said with a sigh. His dark half also had the millennium ring, or part of it. When they separated the millennium ring's power was split in half between them. He really didn't like the thought of his dark half returning.

As the sun started to go down, Derek felt a twinge in his soul, as though someone had just gotten in. He really didn't care anymore. He turned over, voicing his thought out loud.

"I'm condemned to this bad luck. That fortuneteller said so when she saw my book. At first I thought she was just wacko, but she may just be right." He sighed and turned over again, burying his face in his pillow.

Yugi reached out and patted Ryou's arm sympathetically. He knew it must be hard for the white-haired teen having Bakura as a Yami and all, and he often considered himself lucky he had Yami.

"Don't worry Ryou, if it is Bakura and he starts anything, we're always here to back you up. Me and Yami."

"And us," Joey grinned. Ryou nodded,

"We better check and see," he clenched his fists tightly over the ring as he followed its lead. Eventually they reached an alleyway and Ryou glanced over at Yugi, "I don't like the look of this already."

The others turned into the alleyway and peered over the two boys shoulders, and Tea instantly turned away.

"That's Ushio," Tristan muttered. "Looks like him and his mates had one heck of a fright." It was true, all the boys were on the floor twitching and their faces were all twisted in masks of terror and disgust, and their eyes were all blank.

"Yugi, Yami didn't go mind crushing Ushio again did he?" asked Tea; all too aware of the familiar look on the unconscious boys faces. Yugi shook his head, this wasn't Yami's doing he was sure. Ushio had left him alone since the last incident concerning him and his other half, but the strange thing was that it didn't look like Yami Bakura's doing. Even though he was a decidedly deadly type, even HE wouldn't go this far or would he? Yugi looked over at Ryou, his face paler than was normal.

Kara sighed as she felt her skin prickle again, only an hour into her class and she'd already lost concentration twice. Her friends and teacher were beginning to think she was having trouble.

"Miss. Hiroshi, has something happened at home that's worried you or is it something else?" asked her teacher.

"No mam not at home," Kara told her truthfully. "Someone I know is in a bit of trouble that's all."

"Would you like to finish early and go to see them?"

"No miss, i'll finish class," Kara responded.

"If you say so."

Ryou bit his lip and turned walking out of the alleyway. Being this close he could sense the power of the millennium item that had been used. He knew it was the millennium eye, the millennium eye, which had last been seen with his dark half. He leaned on the wall of the shop just beside the alley and stared up at the sky.

An hour or so later, Kara was busy changing in the changing rooms and was switching to her normal afternoon clothes when Miss. Amari stepped into the room and closed the door. She looked around for a few moments until she spotted Kara sitting down so she could tie the laces of her trainers, and approached her.

"Miss. Hiroshi," she announced. Kara gazed up as she finished tying her right trainer.

"Yes Miss. Amari," she responded as she began tying her left one without lowering her eyes.

"There's a young white haired teenager here to see you," she told her.

"Oh right," Kara nodded as she got up and grabbed her things, including her sennen item, which she hooked around her neck.

She stepped out of the changing room and looked around, just as Emily and Micky who'd been waiting for her stepped over to her.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Emily whispered with a giggle as Kara's eyes fell on the white-haired teen. Kara looked at the teen as he turned around, but it wasn't Ryou. She may not have known his darker half all that well, but she knew it was him standing there. How in the world had he found her? Then she saw the sennen ring around his neck, still glistening. Of course, she thought with a groan. Ryou's ring can sense other sennen items. Great, I wander what he wants

"So is he?" asked Micky.

"No he's uh, Ryou's cousin," Kara responded hurriedly, she knew it was a lie but hey what else could she tell them?

"I'll walk with you guys Sunday ok." Giving the two girls a wave she took Bakura by the elbow and led him out of the building.

"What are you doing here?" she asked sharply. "If you've come looking for trouble you'll certainly find it."

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes and pulled away from her,

"I just came to warn you lot about something but Ryou's not home and I have no idea where he is. I happened to have remembered you telling him that you had ballet dancing on Thursdays. Now if you'll kindly lead me to my hikari and that blasted pharaoh."  
"You have a nerve to ask me that," she snapped at him. "After what you did? Do you really think Ryou's going to want to see you again? You must be out of that ancient mind of yours!" She turned on her heal angrily, her sennen item reacting to her sudden anger.

"Like I care what happens to you lot anyway," he growled turning and heading off in the other direction fuming with anger. He knew she had every right to be angry with him but he was trying to warn them. How could he have lost the millennium eye to that thing? He curses at himself as he turned a corner then punched the wall of the building next to him.  
Kara turned back to see Bakura had stormed away; she felt silly for having got so angry at him, but honestly he deserved a good yelling at. Frowning she wandered where Ryou had gone with the others, and hurriedly skipped onto the next bus leading towards the carnival. _I hope Ryou's ok_ she thought quietly.

The bus stopped by the carnival and she got off, still carrying her things in her hands and on her back. Asking the man standing by the gate of the carnival if he'd seen her friends, giving him Yugi's description, he told her they'd headed back down the street. Thanking him she ran off down the street, and carried on till she literally bumped right into Tristan. The two both fell to the pavement with a hard thump, groaning in pain.

"Ouch, bad idea," Kara muttered as Tea helped her up.

"Kara ever heard of watching where you're going?" asked Tristan as Duke dragged him to his feet.

"You try trying to catch up with you guys," Kara countered, then she turned to Ryou her eyes glimmering with concern.

"You other half is looking for you," she told him quietly.

"It must have been him then," Ryou muttered calmly glancing back at the alleyway where Yugi, or rather, Yami was still examining the scene. Ryou narrowed his eyes for a moment and muttered something crossing his arms then sighed and turned and began to walk off, "I'm heading home."  
"What did I miss?" asked Kara as she watched Ryou walk away.

"Ushio and his friends were hit with shadow magic," Joey whispered as Yami stood up and returned to the others sides.

"Oh right," Kara whispered. "You know you guys may think i'm nuts for saying this, but...I don't think Bakura had anything to do with it."

"You're right, you are nuts," Tristan told her.

"I'm afraid not," Yami countered. "Kara's right, something else did this. It wasn't Bakura."

"Then what was it?" asked Tea.

"I don't know, yet."

"He calls himself Scorn," came a voice from a little ways down the street, "I knew you'd lead me to them." Yami Bakura said crossing his arms, "I duelled him several weeks ago and lost my millennium eye to him. He's not someone you mortals would want to run into I assure you." He then glanced over to Ryou who was walking away. Kara glared sharply at Ryou's darker half, and noticed that Yami had nimbly stepped in front of him, in case he thought about going after Ryou.  
"You have a nerve coming back," Yami literally growled at the other spirit. "Even though your information is helpful, and you had no hand in this, coming back was not a good idea."  
"Yugi save your breath," Kara whispered calmly. "He didn't listen to me, so I doubt he'll listen to you." Bakura just stared back and forth between the pharaoh and the incarnation of his past friend, and sighed. Once again he knew they had the right to be angry with him, they all did.  
  
Ryou had gone by then, and they were all sure he was heading off home and they hoped he'd be all right on his own with this 'Scorn' person running around, although they soon learned from Bakura that Scorn wasn't exactly human.

Yami Bakura rolled his eyes then turned and walked off down the alley where Shroud's victims were. He walked past them without even a second glance and headed down the street on the other side in the direction of Ryou's house.  
'I need to talk to him,' he thought to himself as he walked. The memories of the dream he'd had just wouldn't go away. The emotions he'd felt emanating from his light still fresh in his mind. The fear he'd fed with every beating he'd given his aibou.

Kara and the others watched him leave then looked to the unconscious teens in the alleyway.

"What shall we do about Ushio and his gang?" asked Joey.

"Not much we can do," Yami responded. "People don't usually fair too well after an experience with the shadow realm."

"I'm going to call an ambulance anyway," Tea muttered as she walked over to a pay phone. "We can't just leave them there, Ushio and gang or not." The others shrugged as she called the ambulance and decided to leave afterwards, trying to explain to a couple of paramedics that the teens were alive but their minds were missing would just brand them as strange and that was something they didn't need right now. Kara was actually worried about Ryou as they walked away from the scene, it wasn't the run in with Bakura he might face, it was him being alone while this Shroud person was wandering around that worried her.

Ryou sighed as he unlocked his door and headed into his house. He hoped the others would be able to help Derek but with his dark half running around, Ryou just wanted to stay out of sight as best as he could.  
  
Yami Bakura watched as his light half headed into the house they'd once shared. He narrowed his eyes slightly and was about to turn and leave when he spotted a shadow from the corner of his eye heading around the back of the house.  
"I... must obtain the Item this boy holds," said the Shroud, cackling. Then he spotted Bakura. "Well, well, if it isn't the pathetic tomb thief I'd humiliated earlier. And how have you been doing?" he asked, laughing unpleasantly.  
"I suggest you turn and leave now," the dark spirit said calmly, "You've done enough here already. And there is no way I'm letting you get near my Hikari." He narrowed his eyes at the black-cloaked figure and put a hand to his millennium ring, "You're not going to win this time."

Meanwhile, having left the unpleasant scene of Ushio and his friends suffering from shadow magic, the rest of the group of friends were walking quietly down the street. They were all deep in thought, especially Kara and Yugi, who'd since switched control with Yami.

"Uh, do you think Ryou will be ok?" asked Tea, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that was slowly settling over the group.

"He has the Millennium Ring," Yugi commented. "It'll protect him. All the items protect their wearers, whether they have a Yami or not." Kara nodded as both gently rubbed their sennen items with their fingers, but as they did they felt the movement of shadow magic. It was very faint; probably nothing worth worrying about, but then again that was usually a bad thing to think.

"We'd best go and have a look," Yugi suggested as he quickened his pace. Nodding in agreement, Kara followed a few steps behind the smaller teen, with the others just a few steps behind her.

Shroud cackled insanely. Apparently the powers that he had obtained had driven him mad. "Bring it on!" he shrieked, then let out an unearthly screech, as though letting out the last scraps of humanity left in his body. He withdrew a Duel Disk from nowhere, activated it, plunged them in the Shadow Realm, then activated a power similar to Orechalcos, except powered by the shadows, and not a god. The tube descended around them, and the same symbol appeared on the ground and on Bakura and Shroud's foreheads, but instead of bright green, they were dark purple, like the energies of the Shadow Realm.  
  
He laughed unpleasantly, though there was a tinge of a scream in it. "This shadow game should be quite interesting." A pair of shadow pillars appeared behind them and shadow chains around their ankles, abdomens and necks shackled them to them. Pools of darkness gathered at the bases of the pillars.

"For every Life Point you lose, the pillar will sink, you will be submerged in the darkness, and a portion of your soul will disappear, as well as your ability to wield your Millennium Item." He gave a feral grin. "In other words, it will weaken your resistances, and make you more vulnerable for the shadows. Also, your Hikari will feel the same creeping weakness that you will. As I have one that I won't have to worry about," he continued, smiling derangedly, "I will suffer no such loss."  
He waved his free arm and Ryou appeared, chained to the edge of the Oreichalcos-like barrier, much like the way Yugi and Malik were during their showdown. "Also, the loser will have the souls of himself and his Hikari sacrificed to the darkness!" he proclaimed, howling madly. "Oh, and I wouldn't be so inconsiderate as to forget my Hikari," he said, still laughing. Seeing the disbelieving look on Bakura's face, he went on, "True, he is useless, and a victim of a Shadow Game, but he is an innocent soul, all the same." He waved his arm again, and the Impostor, who had earlier been defeated by Derek, appeared, chained similarly. The only difference between him and Ryou was that he did not seem to notice his imprisonment, and his eyes remained blank and unfocused.  
"Ah, look, the spectators have arrived," he added, sneering, as the edge of the shadow bubble glowed gold in two places, and then the Millennium Puzzle and the Millennium Crescent broke into the bubble. Yugi and Kara rushed in followed by the others. As Duke and Tristan barely made it in, the bubble sealed itself behind them.

Both Kara and Yami stopped dead in their tracks at the sight, Yami recognized the two similar dueling fields and dueling methods and his whole body shivered. He closed his eyes and fought to control his raging memories, he did NOT like this one little bit. Yugi's spirit form floated to his side, and he slid his arms around him in a protective hug.

)Don't worry Yami( he promised. )I'm here for you( Kara had no idea what the two fields were in aid of, and something told her she'd be better off not knowing. She glanced over at Ryou, her eyes shimmering with panic. This was a shadow duel, which she knew from what she'd been told by Yugi/Yami and Ryou, but what did two innocent bystanders have to do with it?

She could Yami Bakura glowering at Shroud, his eyes shimmering darkly. He was looking at Ryou out of the corner of his eyes, and was that what she thought it was? Was he worried about his hikari or was she just seeing things? Shaking her head, she looked over at Shroud. Ugly, was the first word that came to mind.

"Eww, talk about hideous!" Tea cried. "That fake Kaiba in Duelist Kingdom looked better!"

"I agree with ya there Tea," Joey concurred as he and the others tried to catch their breath.

(If Bakura loses)Yami told Yugi calmly.

)I can probably guess( Yugi responded. Then he glanced over at Kara, she'd taken something out of a pouch at her waist, and was staring at it intently. It was a pair of duel monsters cards, but what was on them?

Kara stared at her two favourite cards, one was the unique one Ryou had given her when he'd returned from Australia. It was a pretty magic card with a winged woman on it, which went well with her dark/light spellcaster/fairy deck, and the other was her Wingweaver monster. Its attack was high as was it's power level, but thanks to the unique magic card Soul Angel, it was possible to summon it. All it required was to remove 1 strong dark monster from play. She knew what Bakura's deck was like, darkness all around.

"Bakura!" she called as she lifting the two cards up and as her necklace began to glow. "Take these, they may help you!" She threw the two cards, and Bakura reached up and caught them.

As the two cards ripped holes in the barrier and landed in Bakura's hands, Shroud let out another insane scream of laughter, and his veins stood out, reminding everyone of Yami Malik.

"Nothing can save you now!!!" he declared as Bakura shuffled the cards into his deck. He tugged his cloak tighter around him. "Let the Shadow Game begin!!!" he proclaimed, and suddenly every spectator except Yugi and Kara found themselves immobilized. Among the shouts and yelps of surprise, Yugi noticed a faint golden eye about the size of his head appear behind Shroud, watching. It kept flickering, as though it was blinking. Neither Shroud nor Bakura had noticed it they were too intent on their Shadow Game. Who, or what, is that?

Kara had also seen the light, but put it down to a fluke and went back to watching the duel, which had now begun. You can do this Bakura she thought. Good luck from an old friend

"Thanks," Yami Bakura murmured to Kara then narrowed his eyes at shroud as he put two cards face down on the field and summoned an Earthbound spirit to the field. He glanced at the form of Shroud's hikari. It was still changing forms from the individuals whom he had taken the form of though Bakura hadn't been there and didn't know about him.

It had only been a few turns, and it looked bad for Bakura. Shroud had him in a tight lock. Abruptly, as though he had suddenly come to a decision, he blurted out, "Would you like to see something?" He pulled out Derek's Millennium Book. He knew Ryou would recognize it, and seeing his face stiffen, he knew he had made a point.  
"I was the one who caused all of that destruction," he snarled, but it was apparent he was pleased with what he had been able to do. "I sent some of the students' souls to the Shadow Realm, and the doctors diagnosed it as brain damage. Ushio and his pathetic posse hired me to do the work, but in truth, the work was its own reward." He closed his eyes with relish. "I was able to show Derek up, in revenge for ruining m body. Then those buffoons tried to get more than they deserved, and I sent them to the Shadow Realm. Before they were gone, they gave me a present." He held up the book, grinning foully. "I must say they have rather good tastes in gift-giving, don't you agree?" He cackled loudly.  
"And then, I find out that that idiot left some rather nice cards sandwiched in the pages of his precious book," he continued, grinning more madly than ever. "He allowed me to make my deck more powerful than before!" He laughed with vindictive pleasure.  
  
Joey, who was still immobilized, glared disgustedly, as did Tristan and Duke. Tea was speechless, and even Yami was horrified at the way this creature told of his crimes. As if in response to their accusatory looks, he snapped, "Why did that fool have to ruin my fun? Why did he have to stop me from ruining your relationships? He had no connections to you, none at all! He utterly ruined me! And then," he continued, and at this point he seemed more satisfied than before, "I learned of the legend of the Millennium Items from a person, who told me (in my head, I must add) that if I could gather them for him, he would send opportunities in my way, to get my revenge!" He guffawed even louder than before. The eye behind him sizzled, as if in anger.  
"Enough of this! It's time to destroy you!" And with that, he drew his next card.  
"You're sick," Ryou muttered glaring at Shroud, "I knew Derek would never have done something like that. And just for your information, Derek's our friend. He was since before you decided to start making trouble."  
  
Yami Bakura just watched as Shroud pulled out his card and glanced at his hand. He already had 3 demon monsters in his graveyard. Now all he had to do was wait till he drew his Dark Necrophia monster card. He smirked as he glanced at the card he'd drawn last turn. Seeing as the cards in his hand were useless anyway he could use Hand Obliteration and possibly get his Dark Necrophia.

Shroud grinned nastily.

"I think this could work. I know what you're planning, and I can stop it easily. You think that by summoning your Dark Necrophia you can break out of my lock?" He sneered revoltingly.

"I don't think so. I summon Banisher of the Light, in defence mode! Then I activate Necromancy, to summon back your demons!" He cackled at the look on Bakura's face. "Go, my beasts! Attack his demons, and Banisher of the Light, remove them from the game!" He laughed as the monsters exploded, screaming. "What strategy do you have now, tomb thief? Draw your last card!"

Kara felt her skin prickle this was not good. Come on, Bakura she thought. I know you're better than this, I may never have seen you duel, but if you duel like Ryou does then you've got to be good. Yami growled something out under his breath as he watched the duel; this was going badly for both Ryou and Bakura. He didn't want to lose his friends to some freak like Shroud, and he could sense that Yugi didn't either.

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes as he drew another card. He smirked slightly. What Shroud didn't know was that he now had three monsters in his hand. His plan might still work,

"I use the magic card Hand Obliteration. Now we both have to discard our cards to the graveyard." He smirked as he drew his new hand. Dark Necrophia and the change of heart card, "I summon, Dark Necrophia."

Shroud stared, eyes burning feverishly. He drew his card then howled in delight. He took a second to glance at Ryou's frozen friends, and at the Pharaoh, glaring at him angrily.

"I'll play this magic card from Derek," he said tauntingly. "Diamond Mine! I can only activate this card if I have three to five cards in my hand. By discarding two cards from my hand, I can draw an extra card every draw phase!" Positively screaming his sick laughter, he discarded the remaining two cards in his hand, and a field of sparkling diamonds appeared, as the Shadow Realm showed his magic card's activation. He then pursed his lips in a rather grotesque fashion.

"I didn't expect this, and since I can't destroy your monster, I'll leave it be, and switch Fire-Wing Pegasus to defence mode and end my turn. Draw, and be thankful that you survived," he snapped.

Kara shivered, this guy was horrible.

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes as he drew another card. Yami Bakura smirked slightly as he held up a card backwards so Ryou and the others could see it. Of course, it was his all time favourite card as well as his hikari's. His hikari smiled and mumbled,

"Do it." Yami Bakura nodded, "But first. Dark Necrophia, destroy the Banisher of the Light. Then I use Change of Heart on Zera. Zera, destroy Skull Knight." The card did as it was told and destroyed Shroud's card causing the pillar behind him to sink into the shadows.

Shroud surveyed the field, snickering. The tomb thief was well up to his waist in the darkness. Bakura suddenly took control of his Zera, and gave the order to attack to all of his monsters. Shroud shrieked in anger as his monsters were destroyed, wailing horribly.

"You'll pay for that!" he snapped, as he sank ankle deep into the pool. Angrily, he ripped two cards out of his duel disk, per the effect of Diamond Mine. His Zera then returned to him. Snarling, he yelled out, "I sacrifice my Fire-Wing Pegasus for the Beast of Talwar, and attack your Necrophia with my Zera! Then, Beast of Talwar, attack...?" He trailed off, stunned. True, he had obliterated Bakura's monster, sinking the tomb thief another few inches into the pool, but a ghost shot out of his graveyard, and by the looks of it, had possessed his mighty Zera!

"NO!" he wailed angrily as his fiendish Zera the Mant now stood with his enemy. When his wails died down, he continued, "And knowing your deck, you will activate Dark Sanctuary now, will you not?" His eyes burned with hate as Bakura slid the card into the field card slot and the strange field of eyeballs and mouths surrounded them. "I end my turn," he snarled angrily.  
  
The eye behind him became more prominent than ever.

Yami Bakura smirked at Shroud's anger and chuckled slightly,

"Finally realizing you can't win this duel Shroud? You do know what Dark Sanctuary does, do you not?" Ryou took a deep breath. It looked like his Yami might just win after all. He glanced over at the others then back at the two duelling.

Shroud snarled.

"The ghost of Dark Sanctuary will infest one of my monsters, and if I attack with that monster, the ghost counterattacks, stopping my monster, decreasing my Life Points by half that monster's attack, and increasing your Life Points by that amount," he reeled off dully. Then he raised his head, his eyes rolling maniacally. "But in order for the ghost to possess my monsters, you have to release control of Zera, and then I'll have more monsters than you. Make your choice."  
"Fine then. Have your pathetic monster back. Just make sure you don't use the wrong one," the dark spirit smirked as he glanced at his two face down cards then placed another card on the board, "Ouija Board. I'm sure you know what this does."

Kara watched the whole duel with quiet fascination. She'd seen Ryou duel, but his cards weren't all dark and sadistic like his darker half's were. She looked over at Yami, and from the look on his face he'd seen this whole strategy before.  
"Yami is this move effective?" she asked.  
"It is VERY effective," the spirit responded with a nod. "A harsh strategy to. Bakura knows what he's doing."  
"Oh good." Kara then looked back towards the duel, and found herself putting her faith in Bakura. _Come on; take this guy down_ she thought calmly. _And remember, you've got a little backup if you need it._

Shroud hissed venomously as he drew his two cards. Hmm, the tomb thief is proving to be tougher than I thought, he grumbled silently. "Knowing you," he growled out loud, "You're ready to play Dark Door. But the major flaw is that I can still attack with two monsters this turn." Bakura smirked.

"Attack then, if you dare."  
  
Shroud fell back to think. Most likely his ghost has possessed my Zera the Mant. It is the most powerful monster, and he wants to save himself from taking more damage than is necessary. He stared hungrily into his opponent's face, scrutinizing him. But then again, that's what he would want me to think. So that I'll attack him with the weaker monster, and the Dark Sanctuary Ghost would counterattack. Well, I'll just attack with Zera. It just didn't occur to the fool that I would be more intelligent and figure out his bluff. Idiot. With that, he shouted,

"Zera, attack him Directly!" and not even a second later let out a howl of despair, as the ghost smashed into Zera's chest, effectively negating his attack, then smashed into Shroud, sinking him another foot or so into the shadow pool, and elevating Bakura just as much. Gritting his teeth, Shroud then realized his other monster was free.

"Beast of Talwar, attack him directly!" Bakura grinned wider, and pressed a button on his Duel Disk.

"Did you really think I wouldn't be ready for your pathetic assault?"  
  
"NO!" groaned Shroud, as the card flipped up to reveal... Dark Spirit of the Silent, which redirected the attack to Zera forcing it to attack... and the Dark Sanctuary Ghost to attack back. Yami wondered for a brief moment how Shroud would keep duelling if his arms were submerged, but his question was answered immediately as the liquid-like shadows boiled up and covered the rest of his torso. All that was left was his head, a good portion of his neck, his right arm, and his lower left arm (the part with the Duel Disk). Bakura rose about a foot again, and the level of the shadows was now at his kneecaps.  
  
Shroud placed a card face-down, and silently ended his turn, mouthing curses and swears to himself, obviously directed at his grinning opponent, who played the Death Message E, and the Ouija Board now spelled D-E.  
"Don't look so cocky now do you Shroud," Yami Bakura smirked, "There's one difference between the duel we had before and this one. Back then I didn't care what happened. I had nothing left so it didn't matter. Now it does." Ryou blinked at this and looked at his darker half then closed his eyes, _'you can do it. Don't let him win Yami_.' Yami Bakura turned for a moment to glance at his hikari then turned back and drew a card. He smirked as he held up Kara's card. This might come in handy later though he doubted he'd need it. Shroud was nearly submerged by now.  
"I play, Dark Door," Yami Bakura said calmly smirking at Shroud, "Now you can only play one monster per turn. Do make sure you choose the right one. Wouldn't be fun if you lost so easily. And now I will end my turn."

Two more turns passed like this, with the only difference being Shroud's unwillingness to attack and Bakura summoning a monster a turn and sacrificing it as Dark Sanctuary's upkeep. Now the Ouija Board spelled out D-E-A-T.  
  
Shroud drew his two cards for the turn, then started to laugh, a truly chilling sound.

"I've drawn the card I need. I activate the Magic Card Heavy Storm! This card destroys each and every one of our Magic and Trap Cards!" A massive rush of wind blew across the field, chilling everyone present to the bone. Bakura gritted his teeth. Dark Sanctuary would survive as long as Dark Necrophia remained in his Graveyard and as long as he sacrificed a monster at the end of his turn, but his fragile Ouija Board combo would go down the tubes. As the cards shattered, and the Ouija Board and the letters faded to nothingness, Shroud made his next move.  
"I activate Monster Reborn! To resurrect your Dark Necrophia!" He cackled with unrestrained laughter. "This will destroy your Dark Sanctuary!" As the field of red vapour evaporated, the humanoid Demon rose on his opponent's field. "Then, to make sure you have no threats left, I will play Hand Rebirth! True, we will both get five cards, but we must discard our hands first!" Bakura winced as Kara's card went to the Graveyard, but he noticed something interesting.  
  
He had drawn Dark Hole, which could obliterate the threats against him, and more importantly, Light of the End, which could resurrect a Light Main-Type monster from his graveyard. Normally he wouldn't have bothered with such cards, as his deck had not a single Light monster in it. It must have gotten in there by mistake, or maybe his Hikari had added it, yes, that would be it.  
  
Shroud was confused as to why he was smiling, but he shrugged it off and attacked with Zera, watching the tomb thief sink to the middle of his torso. He had switched his Beast of Talwar to defence mode in the rare case of a comeback from the tomb thief, and he had revived Dark Necrophia in defence mode as well.

"Lastly," he added with a sneer, "I activate Guardian Goddess Treasure! I discard five cards from my hand, and draw two then from this point on, I draw one more card during my draw phase. Not that I need the extra cards, but nothing like a way to provide backup. It's your move, tomb thief, and it may very well be your last.  
"Now, draw your last card, and decide your fate!"

Yami Bakura drew another card then placed a magic card on the field,

"I play, Dark Hole. And you should know what this card does as well. Anyway, I also play Light of the End to resurrect Wingweaver."

Shroud looked on with something close to horror as the massive black vortex sucked away his army of creatures, but most of all, as Dark Necrophia disappeared. Dark Sanctuary, however, did not reappear.  
  
Shroud then winced as the bright curtain of light descended on the field. Bakura did not like it either, but was filled with an inexplicable joy as the six-winged angel rose before him, showering the area with light.

"No!" growled Shroud shielding his eyes, but then remembered that not only did Bakura have to pay Life Points (his shoulders and the upper halves of his upper arms were now drenched in the shadows), he got a monster from his Graveyard. And he knew just what he wanted.  
  
Bakura was about to give the order to attack, but Shroud rasped,

"Not so fast. I am entitled to a monster, and I select Amazoness Swordswoman!" Laughing again, they all watched as the amazoness rose, clad rather scantily and wielding a large silver sabre. "All damage that I would take from it being in battle will be done to you instead! If you attack it, you lose!"  
  
Bakura, trapped, ended his turn. He had a trap down just in case Shroud decided to throw his own monster at the angel as a suicide notion. But Shroud did nothing of the sort.

"I am well aware that I could inflict the damage to you myself, but I know you have something waiting for me. So instead," he said as he drew his three cards, adding a nasty glare for Yami, which the pharaoh returned without a second's hesitation, "I sacrifice Amazoness Swordswoman for Warrior Lady of the Moon!" He laughed his unpleasant laugh again. "Attack!" Bakura looked on in disbelief, and Yami voiced his thoughts.

"Why did you do that? Your creature's attack is lower than the Wingweaver's!"  
  
Shroud laughed again as his monster's attack was increased by 1000. Yami narrowed his eyes in realization.

"You see," said Shroud, grinning rather grossly, "My monster increases its attack by 1000 points during damage calculation if it battles a Light Main-Type monster. Bye bye Wingweaver!" he added mockingly as the angel exploded. All that remained of Bakura now were both his forearms and the right half of his face. "And I'll place my last card face down."  
  
Bakura drew his card in silence then played it without hesitation.

"Cost Down," he muttered quietly. "By discarding a single card," he went on, sliding his Opticlops into the graveyard slot, "all monsters in my hand have their levels reduced by two. So I summon Dark Ruler Ha Des!" He smiled satisfactorily as the cloaked menace appeared.

"I activate a trap! Dark Void! This stops the attacks of any Main-Type of my choice, and I choose Dark! This means your Dark Ruler can't attack!" Bakura was still smiling.

"I never said I would attack with Ha Des. I use Creature Swap, to switch my creature with yours." Shroud raised a filthy eyebrow.

"And what is the point of that?" he asked belligerently. Bakura looked at Kara, and said,

"Thank you." His attention back on Shroud, he then continued, "I activate Soul Angel! This card of Kara's allows me to sacrifice a powerful Dark monster to summon a high-level Light monster! Since your Warrior Lady of the Moon would be a nuisance and it still fulfilled the requirement for Soul Angel, I took it. And now I sacrifice it, to summon Wingweaver!" For the second time, the graceful angel rose, but this time glowing brightly. "Soul Angel also increases the monster's attack by 500 points. Wingweaver, attack, and finish off the fool!" The angel, with a dirty look at Shroud, rose high in the air, and started to mould a large orb of light. It continued to grow, until it was the size of a boulder. The angel, holding it high above her head, now threw it at Ha Des. The monster was instantly vaporized, and Shroud was screaming as the explosion blew at him.  
  
Shroud sank, still screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a horrifying thing to hear. Suddenly, the Millennium Book flew out of his robes and into the golden eye, which gleamed brightly for a moment, then blinked out of existence. The Oreichalcos-like tube closed in on Shroud, still sinking into the pool of shadow, then absorbed it all: pillars, shadows, Shroud and the lot, and carried it high, high into the sky of the Shadow Realm, along with the Impostor, where it imploded, sucking in the bubble of shadow magic.  
  
The gang was freed from their immobility, and they all crashed to the ground, tripping Yami and Kara who were both running to Bakura. Yami, who changed back into Yugi, may have gotten stuck, but not Kara, she ran all the way to the two possessors of the Millennium Ring who were both smiling guiltily at each other. The Millennium Eye clinked to the ground in the following silence.

Ryou sighed as he glanced over at his Dark half. He could easily see that something had changed since his Yami had left. There was something in his eyes. Was that guilt? Ryou stared at his Yami for a few moments then walked up and put out his hand,

"Thanks." Yami Bakura nodded calmly and shook his hikari's hand slightly, "It's the least I could do. Now I best be leaving." He bowed slightly and went to turn away as the shadows dissipated.  
"Bakura," a girls voice called as Kara stopped behind him. "Are you leaving so soon?" Yugi who'd since got himself out of the tangle he and the others had got into, came and stood just behind Ryou and next to Kara.

"You duelled well there," Yugi told him. "And even though you may not care about his thoughts, Yami thought so to."

"Yes i'm leaving," was the Yami's reply, "As for my duelling skills. I've always duelled well but... thanks." With that said the dark spirit walked off. When the other's turned Ryou had 'disappeared'.  
"Where'd Ryou go?" asked Tea looking around for the white-haired hikari.

"Dunno," Joey responded. "He was here a minute ago."

"Yami!" Ryou said as he stepped in front of his darker half, "You can't just leave like that. Besides, you forgot to give Kara her cards back." He chuckled at the last part and smiled. He could tell his Yami wouldn't continue with what he'd done in the past and he didn't really want him to leave. Yami Bakura lifted an eyebrow and threw the two cards in Ryou's direction. The white haired boy caught them and Yami Bakura walked around him and continued on his way. He didn't belong there with Ryou and his friends anyway.  
"Yami?!"

Yami Bakura didn't reply as he walked off leaving his hikari standing there. Ryou didn't follow knowing that it would be no use,

"If you ever want to come back, you know you can," He called out as Yami Bakura disappeared around a corner.

Derek stumbled into the light, surprised to have it back. And where did it come from? he wondered as he examined his Millennium Book. He flipped it open, and was surprised to see moving illustrations, much like a movie, depicting Shroud and Bakura duelling. He shook his head. He was glad to have it back, but how was he going to get out of this mess?

Ryou sighed as he turned and headed back towards the group who were still looking for him, "Well, now what do we do? How are we supposed to explain this to the vice principal?"

The others jumped when he spoke up and turned to face him.

"The vice-principal?" asked Tristan a little confused, and a second later he understood. "Have no idea. Maybe we can talk to one of the students who was beaten up and see what they say." Kara walked up to Ryou as Tristan spoke and wrapped her hands around his arm.

"I'm glad you and Bakura are all right," she told him softly. "But where'd he go? I was hoping he'd stay."

"Uh, hi," said a girl from the mouth of the alley, and they all jumped. "I couldn't help but overhearing what you were saying, and I saw that... black hemisphere thing." She was an average height girl, with brown hair that fell to her shoulders with gold highlights. She was wearing a white tank top, faded jeans, and sneakers. "I was a witness yesterday at the fight, and, well, I think you were investigating it. I just want to say that I want to help. I'm Teresa, by the way," she finished, moving forward.

The group turned to the girl and looked her over.

"Cool, if you can help that would be great," Joey told her. "If you can stand up to our vice principal that is, man he's a monster himself."

"I heard that," Duke nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I was there to pick up my friend's little brother, but then, well, he was in this gang, and this weird guy in cloak was beating them all up. The weirdest thing was that it didn't even seem like he was actually touching them, but they went flying everywhere. I was a little freaked out so I ran off to the carnival to calm down. I watched the duelling for a while, then went back to find that he was all covered in blood. I dialled for an ambulance, and that was just about it," she concluded a little anti-climactically.  
"Shadow magic," Yugi whispered to Ryou and Kara, who both nodded quietly.

"Ok then, we can go to the principal tomorrow morning," Duke announced. "Then we can get Derek out of this."

"Sounds good to me," Tristan agreed. "Say do you think you could spare time to come to Domino High tomorrow Teresa?"

"Um, sure," said Teresa, brushing her bangs out of her face. "I get off on Friday's anyways. I'll meet you at the front door." With that, she hurried off.  
"Thank god. I hope he believes her," Ryou said calmly then sighed, "I wish my Yami had stayed. I think he feels guilty though. Probably think you'll all attack him or something."  
"I'm sure Yami wouldn't unless he does something he shouldn't," Yugi stated. "Or the others right?"

"Err I guess," Joey confirmed. "I guess he's redeemed himself." Ryou grinned quietly to himself that was good. Then he remembered that he still had Kara's cards and handed them to her.

"Thank you," she smiled as she placed them back in her deck pouch. She hugged him again, her thoughts fleeing to Bakura. She was now worried about the spirit of the ring and her old friend, maybe he'd come back when he felt he could.

"So how about we head home?" she asked the others. "I don't know about you guys, but I think our parents may start to worry if we're not home soon."

"Yeah, she's right," Tea agreed. "We'd all better scoot." The others nodded, and the group began to head off to their own homes.

* * *

Please R&R if you wish to see more. 


	8. Revive the Light part 1

Disclaimer: Same as the other pages.

Special notice: Thanks again to BMK and Jaesai for helping me with this RPG. You'll get to see some dueling to, thanks to Jaesai.

* * *

It had been a good couple of weeks since Teresa had testified on Derek's behalf and that had made the vice-principle very unhappy, but he couldn't ignore a witness testimony no matter HOW much he wanted to.

The others were pretty pleased with this and offered to have Derek hang around with them, when he wasn't in detention of course. That particular Wednesday as they sat eating lunch and wandering whether or not Derek was going to be joining them, Ryou actually brought up the problem with his darker half Yami Bakura.

"I'm worried about my Yami," he told the others. "I know it's not like me to show concern over someone who hurt me so much, but I am worried."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Kara told him as she patted his hand. "If it makes you feel any better i'm worried about him to." Ryou nodded solemnly, Kara had been worried about his darker half to. Then again why wouldn't she be? They'd been friends when Kara had lived before in Ancient Egypt, it was pure worry over a friend.

The group all discussed this problem for a while. Yugi sighed as he looked over at Yami, who like Bakura had since found a way to get his own body. Ryou had actually managed to find out the information he needed and now he to could walk around freely as a human again, and not a spirit. Of course when he'd appeared and decided to go to school with Yugi, it had taken some convincing that Yami was his brother. The story they'd eventually come up with was that they'd been separated at birth, and one had lived a long way away till just recently, and they'd only been in contact through post and e-mail. Thankfully people bought it, which was a good thing, as they weren't questioned about it, although Yami did not have a few fan girls who had their eyes on him, but he stayed clear of them.

"Yami what do you think?" asked Yugi. "Do you think Bakura will come back?"

"In his own time he will," Yami responded as he finished a pear. "He just needs time that's all. To think about everything."

"It's been a good month or so," Joey told him.

"I know, but he's done a lot to think about."

"Good point."

Ryou nodded, "I suppose you're right. I just hope he knows he's welcome back if he wants to come back. I really think he's changed." He smiled slightly and squeezed Kara's hand. In that back of his mind he could still hear the voice that was currently telling him he was nuts for wanting his darker half back but he ignored it easily.  
  
"I wonder were Derek is. Did he tell any of you whether or not he had detention today?" Ryou asked suddenly glancing at the doors to the cafeteria. Lately, Derek ate lunch with them when he didn't have detention though he was sometimes late, usually due to the fact that he was earning himself another detention.

Derek sighed as he left the scene. "Good Lord, I didn't think someone would try to usurp my position," Derek muttered under his breath. "I mean, just 'cause I learned my lesson doesn't mean they can start beating on people. God, I've, like, turned into the protector instead of the tormentor. Oh great, now I'm going all philosophical." He kept muttering to himself as he headed out the back door.  
  
His problems with the other gangsters in the school were only the tip of the iceberg. At times after the close call he had with the law, he felt a presence in his mind tugging at him, and simply dismissed it as a conscience. But at other times, it seemed like a whole different person, completely unlike him. He supposed it was the flip side of his personality. Not only that, but also that girl Teresa, who had helped him out, well, she was sort of attractive. And he could have sworn she was eyeing him too. Pity he didn't know where she worked. Even if he did, what would he tell her? He didn't really know how to handle a girl. Not only that, but he felt he had a... well, an obligation to Yugi and Bakura and Kara and the others. People called it friendship, and he had never experienced it before. He sighed again. Whoever said life was to be lived, didn't know the least of it. He didn't know a time in his life when it was so stressed, torn and conflicted.  
  
Not feeling like lunch, he headed home.

Kara squeezed Ryou's hand in return, smiling a normal bright smile at him. It had been a good while since they'd got together and she loved every minute of it, yet she still cared about Bakura. He was her friend after all and she wished he understood that, but if he did or didn't he wasn't showing it much.

"Derek's not coming obviously," Duke muttered as he put his rubbish in his lunch bag. "Either detention or skipping the rest of school."

"Doesn't he know that only leads to more trouble?" asked Tea.

"Derek is Derek," Kara told her with a shrug. "I guess he doesn't really care at the moment or anymore, but that's just a guess.

"So, what shall we do later?" asked Yugi.

"If you mean after school," Joey joked. "Well life has been so hectic lately, so I suggest just hanging out at the park or something."

"For once i'm going to agree," Tristan nodded. "We need a well earned break from all this magic and so on."

The others nodded in agreement and finishing lunch, headed out of the cafeteria, throwing the rubbish in the bin on their way to class. Kara and Ryou walked hand in hand as usual, Science first thing in the afternoon, how wonderful.

Teresa tossed and turned in her bed. No matter what she did, she couldn't get that image of Derek out of her head. He was sort of cute, all right, but why did she get all nervous around him? She really didn't know what to feel. Propping herself up on her elbow, she turned on her laptop and decided to do a little surfing. "Oh, darn," she said with a sigh. She scrolled through KC's website. "No tournaments scheduled." She rolled her eyes. "Kaiba's probably off on another promotional tour for Kaiba Land."  
  
Meanwhile, as Derek headed home, he felt yet another presence, but this time, like someone was watching him. He spun around on the spot, trying to find the stalker, but couldn't see a thing. He turned back around, glanced warily over his shoulder, and then trudged along. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes watched from a nearby alley, and something gold gleamed dimly.

After school that day, the group walked off towards the park together. It was a quiet walk to a degree, as Joey and Tristan were trying hard to bring an argument they were having to a conclusion. It had something to do with a duel monsters combo Joey had been thinking about earlier, and Tristan was trying to help him understand that, even though he knew very little about duel monsters himself, despite the fact he hung around professional duelers all day long.

"Don't worry about it Joey, i'm sure this combo is fine," Tristan told him as Joey sifted through his cards.

"I don't know," Joey said for about the fifth time. Tristan sighed and shook his head in defeat. The others, who were up ahead by a few feet, could hear the conversation and was quietly snickering under their breath.

"Ryou," Kara said softly as she tilted her head to look into the white-haired teens eyes. "I'm sure Bakura will come round, just give him time."

"Yeah, just give him time," Yami agreed as he turned to look at him. "Bakura's a proud person, that's probably all it is." Ryou simply nodded his head quietly. Kara chuckled lightly and squeezed his hand gently, before they found a nice spot beside the lake to sit.

None of them were aware of the person watching them from behind some bushes a couple of yards away, but he was well aware of them.

"So, those are the three," he muttered to himself as he saw Ryou, Kara and Yugi sit side by side and begin discussing their English homework. "I can't take them together, so i'll just wait till they're alone." He snickered quietly and slid away into the shadows.

Ryou smiled as he watched the ripples on the water and pulled Kara closer. It was nice to have some peace and quite for a change though something in the back of his mind told him that it would never last. It never did.  
  
Joey and Tristan were sitting on the bench still conversing about the card combo while Tea stood a ways off and watched her friends. It was nice to see them happy. She sighed slightly and glanced over at Yugi.

Kara snuggled into Ryou's side, staring out at the lake and the grassy areas behind it. The trees and flowers swayed in a light breeze, the leaves on the trees gently rustling. Yugi sensing that he was being watched looked up at Tea and smiled, waving her over. Tea walked up and sat beside him, and they began discussing small things. Yami sat just behind Yugi, not really listening to any of the two conversations, he was happy just watching the day go by. Yugi was safe that also made him feel good. Something then caused his and the other sennen items to shine very faintly and he looked up and around, but not seeing anything he turned back to staring at the sky.

The group sat in the peace and quiet for a couple more hours; it was so nice to spend that Wednesday afternoon resting. Sure they had school in the morning, but hey, why not have some time to themselves? Lifting her wrist, Kara checked her watch and was surprised to see that it was 7:30pm; they'd been there for nearly three hours.

"I think we should go and hang out elsewhere," she told them. "It's getting darker early now and I don't want to hang around too long."

"I agree," Tea nodded. "The park's nice and all, but even after dark it can become unpleasant unless you're on a date." She smirked over at Ryou and Kara as she said that, and giggled as they both shot her mock glares.

"Then let's go," Yugi agreed as he got up and retrieved his things. Nodding the others got up and followed him.

They were half way across the park when Yugi felt like he was forgetting something, and looking around and in his bag found that he'd left his English study book behind.

"Guys i've got to go back for my book," he told them. "Just wait here ok."

"Ok Yug'," Joey grinned. "Although are you sure you don't want company?"

"Nah, i'm sure I can get my book on my own."

"All the same, i'm going to keep the link open," Yami told him. Yugi nodded and ran back to retrieve his book.

Yugi soon found his book nestled in the long grass and knelt down to pick it up; as he did the wind whistled around him and he looked up and around, sensing that something was close by.

"Hello!" he called. "Whose there? Yami? Joey? Ryou?" Not getting an answer he shivered and decided to hurry back to the others, but he'd barely gone a few feet when something hit him from behind and he fell unconscious into the grass, dropping his book.

Yami felt this happen and looked up suddenly, as the link snapped shut. His sharp crimson eyes darted towards where Yugi had run off to, and narrowing them in suspicion he ran off in the same direction.

"Yami where are you going?" Tristan called as the others chased after him.

"Yugi's in trouble," Yami responded as he picked up speed. Worried, the others did the same till they came to the spot where Yugi had been, only to find his English book discarded on the ground.

Ryou's eyes darted around quickly searching for any sign of their comrade. He knew that this couldn't be a joke because Yami would know it but he hoped that it was nothing. He bit his lip as he walked a ways off from the group and looked around some more, "Why do things like this always have to happen? I knew it was too good to last."

Derek felt the presence of the stalker, and took a roundabout route around town, hoping that the stalker wouldn't really notice. Luckily, he didn't. He obviously didn't know this city very well, but sooner or later he would figure out he wasn't getting anywhere. And when _that_ happened... Derek chuckled under his breath. His life was never boring.

Kara turned to look to where Ryou had wandered off to, keeping her eyes on him. Yugi had disappeared as he'd gone off alone and she didn't want that to happen to Ryou to. She frowned as she looked around some more, but kept one eye on the white-haired teen. _Where are you Yugi?_ she wandered. _What happened here?_ Kara could've mentally kicked herself, here she was trying to figure it out when she had a Millennium Item that could do that for her.  
  
Closing her eyes, Kara raised her hands so that they surrounded the Millennium Crescent and thought about Yugi. She hoped the pendant would pick something up. If she could trace what had happened, then they could save Yugi easily. Noticing her necklace light up, Tea turned to watch with interest to see if she could figure out what was going on, as she knew about the powers of Kara's necklace.  
"You think you can find him?" asked Yami as he sensed her item powering up.  
"I can certainly try," Kara confirmed without opening her eyes. Her power surfaced and scanned the area, and she found the Millennium Puzzle Yugi was wearing quite easily.  
"He's moving, towards some warehouses but I can't quite tell where, she informed them."

Kara nodded and adjusting her bag strap in her hand, made her way back down to the parks main pathway, with the others not far behind her. Ryou skipped down to her side, and Yami eventually took to walking right at the very back behind Joey and Duke. If anything to think about what had happened. Why hadn't he sensed it sooner? He was meant to be Yugi's partner, friend and protector and now he felt like he'd let his little hikari down.

He sighed slightly then glanced at Kara.

"We better get going to find Yugi before something happens. I'm worried," Ryou said taking a deep breath. He couldn't sense shadow magic but something in the back of his mind was telling him that it had something to do with that anyway.

Kara nodded and adjusting her bag strap in her hand, made her way back down to the parks main pathway, with the others not far behind her. Ryou skipped down to her side, and Yami eventually took to walking right at the very back behind Joey and Duke. If anything to think about what had happened. Why hadn't he sensed it sooner? He was meant to be Yugi's partner, friend and protector and now he felt like he'd let his little hikari down.

Ryou sighed to himself and shook his head and he slipped his hand into Kara's, "You're welcome to join us if you want to though." His thoughts turned to Yugi then. We hoped his friend was ok and that whatever had happened wasn't as bad as he felt it was. Something in the back of his mind and pit of his stomach was telling him that Yugi was in a lot of danger and that they needed to find him as quickly as possible. 

Kara could feel the light sweat on Ryou's hand; he was nervous for some reason or worried. She squeezed his hand tightly and continued to walk. Glancing back at Yami, she wandered how he was feeling. His best friend had been kidnapped and he had no idea who had taken him or where they'd taken him. _Can't we have an ounce of peace?_ She wandered to herself as she turned her eyes back to the way in front of her. _What is so inviting about Yugi, Ryou, myself and probably a few others, that makes people come after us? Why am I even asking myself that? I already know why._ She reached up subconsciously and rubbed her sennen item, it was because of their sennen items, figures.  
  
Once again she chanced a look at Yami, he looked so deep in thought and ultra worried and she wished she could sympathize more, but she couldn't. She wasn't in the same boat as Ryou and Yugi were, with other halves to their personalities, she considered herself lucky since she hadn't. Yet she couldn't help but feel that she should do something, but what?  
  
Meanwhile, the same figure that'd kidnapped Yugi had dropped him off in the hiding area and was back to stalking Kara and Ryou. Both were together and close to their group of friends, so snatching them wasn't going to be as easy. _Maybe the girl next,_ he thought to himself, _She's not bound to put up a struggle._ He smirked and continued to follow them.  
  
Yami stopped suddenly during their walk, and the others didn't notice till they were a few yards ahead.  
"Hey Yami what's up?" asked Joey.  
"I think we're being watched," he responded.  
"Really?" asked Tea. "I don't see anyone."  
"Ever heard of stalking?" Duke enquired somewhat cynically as the group all looked around. Kara turned her head a different way to Ryou's as she tried to sense for a presence, if anything the items they wore detected things, at least that was helpful. Ryou walked up to Yami quietly, not realizing that Kara had let go of his hand and had wandered off.  
"Hello?" she asked softly moving towards a set of bushes near by. Shrugging when she saw and sensed nothing, she turned only to be knocked unconscious. She fell limply into the shadowy figures arms, and her bag slid off her shoulder and onto the ground.

"Something wrong Yami? You ok?" Ryou asked calmly looking at his friend. A second later he stiffened and wiped around. The others looked slightly startled at that before Ryou's eyes went wide, "Kara?! Where is she?!"

"Don't know, she was here a moment ago," Duke responded as he to began looking around for the crimson and gold haired girl. The others also began looking for her, but they couldn't see her anywhere. Ryou frowned and lifted his Sennen Ring up with both his hands, before focusing his thoughts on both Yugi's and Kara's sennen items. The Ring glistened brightly and one of the pointers twitched and lifted up so that it was pointed towards a set of bushes, which the group immediately walked towards, only to find Kara's bag discarded on the ground.  
"Not again," Joey groaned. "And in just short time to. I mean first Yugi and now Kara. I swear it's because of your Millennium Items to."  
"It probably is," Yami agreed. "But if that's true how come no one has targeted me as well as Yugi?"  
"Maybe because Yugi and Kara are a much easier target," Tea responded. "People like the one who took Yugi and Kara will always pick on the weakest first."  
"Well if Ryou's ring can show us where they are," Tristan stated. "Then that's a good thing, so start leading Ryou." Ryou nodded silently and swinging Kara's bag over his shoulder, began to follow the trail that his ring was pulling him in.  
  
Meanwhile in the said warehouses Kara had sensed earlier, the shadowy figure that'd abducted both her and Yugi was carefully supporting her over his shoulder as he unlocked a door. He was a quick moving figure, and the warehouses were only a few blocks away anyway. He smiled triumphantly and pushed the door open, before stepping into the small room. He glanced over at Yugi who'd since regained consciousness, before setting Kara down beside him and tying her wrists firmly to a metal pole behind her.  
"Who are you?" Yugi demanded to know as Kara groaned slightly.  
"That's on a need to know basis," the figure snorted as he headed back towards the door. "And you spiky, don't need to know." That said he closed the door and locked it, leaving Yugi to try and wake Kara up.

Meanwhile in the said warehouses Kara had sensed earlier, the shadowy figure that'd abducted both her and Yugi was carefully supporting her over his shoulder as he unlocked a door. He was a quick moving figure, and the warehouses were only a few blocks away anyway. He smiled triumphantly and pushed the door open, before stepping into the small room. He glanced over at Yugi who'd since regained consciousness, before setting Kara down beside him and tying her wrists firmly to a metal pole behind her.

Finally, the stalker had gotten the idea that Derek wasn't really walking with a destination in mind. _Probably already figured out I'm following him_, he thought in disgust. Breaking into a run, he charged after Derek, who quickly dodged down an alley and started sprinting as well.

Back with the others, Yami frowned. He'd been trying to call out to Yugi and had succeeded in opening the link they shared, but he couldn't get the answers the others needed. Ryou's Millennium Ring was leading them towards the said warehouses, but it would be better if they knew which one it was from Yugi's or Kara's point of view.

So you have no idea? he asked again.

Not a clue Yugi responded.

Ok then is Kara with you and how is she?

She's still a little groggy, but otherwise she's fine

Good, i'll let Ryou know Yami told him and turned to tell Ryou their status, whilst keeping the link open.

Ryou sighed as he continued on towards the warehouse district. It was clear that they were now on the 'wrong side of the tracks' and a sense of impending doom loomed over them all. Ryou bit his lip as he continued on following the direction shown by his millennium ring.  
  
The others suddenly turned quickly hearing something behind them and readying themselves for trouble. Ryou was further ahead and hadn't heard and didn't notice the others weren't following as he rounded a corner and continued on in search of Kara and Yugi.

The group behind him that consisted of Yami, Tea, Tristan, Joey and Duke stayed where they were, their eyes scanning the area for any sign of the trouble they were expecting, but nothing seemed to be coming. Perhaps that was a good sign, although so far the signs hadn't been exactly perfect.  
"Well, now we know we're not being followed," Joey breathed. "Let's carry on with the search. Err, where'd Ryou go?" The others all whirled around to find that Ryou was missing.  
"He was here a second ago," Tea told them.  
"He must not have heard what we heard," Duke surmised. "Come on, we'd better catch up to him, before the worst happens and we lose him to, then finding him and the others will be a lot harder." Nodding in agreement, the group started running to see if they could catch up to Ryou, but if he'd gone ahead he could be anywhere by now.  
  
Ryou wasn't THAT far ahead he'd just gone round a few turns and side alleys, and unfortunately for him he was being watched by the strange stalked who'd kidnapped Kara and Yugi. _Ahh, the holder of the Millennium Ring_ he thought smirking to himself. _Soon he'll join his two little friends_ With a small snicker, he disappeared into the shadows. Ryou had heard the noise, but had passed it off as rats or something.  
  
Meanwhile in the warehouse they'd been taken to, Kara and Yugi were trying to free themselves. Kara had since regained her senses and was trying to free her wrists, but she couldn't.  
"How about we try and untie each other?" Yugi suggested as he to had failed at freeing himself. He then glanced behind him to find that his hands were tied to some sort of support pole and were no where near Kara's hands.  
"Never mind," he groaned. "This is great, we can't get loose and we can't free each other. I guess we'll just have to wait to see if the others find us."  
"If Ryou uses his Millennium Ring it shouldn't be a problem," Kara told him. "Although, I have noticed that that shadow guy went after me and you and not Yami and Bakura isn't here, so..."  
"You think he's taking out the lighter halves?" Yugi finished and Kara nodded.  
"Wonderful."

Derek planted his feet firmly in the sandy gray dust in the old town square. He could hear the rustling of the seedy inhabitants of this abandoned part of Domino, and of the creatures that resided here. Straining his ears, he could make out one sound that stood out above everything else: the sound of rapid footsteps from a pair of boots. "Come out now," yelled Derek to the shadows as the sounds stopped. He whipped out his left-handed Duel Disk and activated it.  
  
The cloaked figure, figuring the game was up, stepped out of the shadows. He had masked his face with a bandana and a hood, so all that could be seen were his intense gray eyes, rather like Derek's. He was also wearing a cloak that trailed to his feet. How he had managed to follow Derek at the speed they had been traveling was astounding.  
  
"C'mon," taunted Derek. "I did you a favor by leading you out here; you can do whatever you want without witnesses."  
  
The cloaked figure also activated his Duel Disk, another custom job, and spoke for the first time. "Duel." It wasn't a request.  
  
Derek agreed. "I sort of guessed that's what you wanted. I'll go first." He drew six cards.

Back with Yami and the others.

"Oh great, first Yugi and Kara get kidnapped and now we've lost Ryou," Joey groaned. "How come this day keeps going from bad to worse?"

"You got me," Tea agreed.

Derek sized up his opponent, slitting his gray eyes. "I'll place this monster in face-down defense mode, and set these two cards. End turn," he declared.  
  
His opponent drew a card, then activated it. "I play the Magic Card Inner Character!" Four cards appeared on the field: a red one emblazoned with a yellow Y, a blue one with a white K etched on it, a the letter J in brown on the green one, and a purple card, inscribed with a yellow P. He went on. "You can select 1 of the cards here, or none at all. And of course, there are drawbacks to selecting one. I pick first. I'll take the J.Y. card." The green card disappeared and appeared behind him.  
  
Derek weighed the odds. He could try and see what the other three were about, but then again, maybe it was safer to just not pick any. "I won't pick any of them."  
  
"Smart," commented the cloaked figure as the remaining three cards disappeared. "Inner Character states that as long as I have a Character Card and you don't, you may discard 1 card from your hand at the end of the turn, and draw another."  
  
"Great," muttered Derek. He knew that this would give him card advantage, but he was more concerned with what the J.Y. card would do to him. "My move," continued his opponent. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4!" The chicken-like silver dragon rose, shrieking into the sky. (4/1600/1000) Derek looked on as his opponent started to speak again.  
  
"The ability of J.Y. allows me to increase the attack power of all my monsters by 800 points during the Battle Phase." Derek's jaw dropped. "However," continued the cloaked figure. "My monsters cannot attack the turn they're summoned. Of course, I'll get around that with this. Defiant Haste!"  
  
Derek watched in horror as his opponent activated the Magic Card, which he knew would allow all monsters, but mainly his opponent's monsters to attack whenever they're summoned, no matter what. Then something tugged at the corner of his mind. "Hey, wasn't that card called Hasty Defiance?"  
  
His opponent answered almost conversationally, "Yeah, but they changed it in the errata. Makes more sense, doesn't it?"  
  
"That's what I was thinking," agreed Derek. You'd have thought they were merely stopping by to chat.  
  
"Enough of this. Let's duel," cut in his opponent. Derek nodded. "Attack, Horus!" Horus's attack rose to 2400, and it easily sliced through the face-down monster: Armed Dragon LV3. "I'll set two cards, then end my turn," he finished almost smugly. "And my Horus grows up. Watch!" The silver dragon suddenly sprouted wings, and increased in size, and Derek could see a faint aura. "Behold Horus, LV6!" (6/2300/1600)  
  
Derek activated his trap. "I activate Call of the Haunted, to resurrect my Armed Dragon at the end of your turn." The ground cracked as the spiked and armored dragon popped out of the ground. (3/1200/900) "My turn. I draw," he said as he pulled out his next card. He raised an eyebrow. _That could come in handy_, he thought. "During my Standby Phase, it grows up! I'll replace it with the Armed Dragon LV5!" The small dragon became bigger, its armor changed color, and its spikes increased in size. (5/2400/1700) "Attack! Destroy Horus now!"  
  
The two dragons clashed, and for a moment it seemed that Derek's dragon would triumph, but the situation reversed in a second. "What the-" said Derek, stunned. His opponent chuckled. "Did I forget to mention that J.Y.'s effect also activates during your Battle Phase as well?" Horus's attack increased to 3100.  
  
Derek pressed a button. "I activate my Magic Card! Hallowed Day! This ends the Battle Phase immediately, and stops all damage." He breathed a sigh of relief as the two dragons pulled away from each other, and Horus's attack reverted to 2300.  
  
He gritted his teeth. That had been close, but the trouble wasn't over. Horus could still power up during his opponent's turn. If he didn't do something soon, it would be over for him.

Ryou stopped suddenly and turned around realizing that he was now alone and the others were nowhere to be found or heard, "Guys? Hello?!" He cursed himself for being so stupid that he hadn't noticed they'd gotten separated and took a deep breath.  
  
"No use in getting myself worked up. Maybe I can find Kara and Yugi on my own," Ryou said with a nod as he turned and continued to follow the direction the point of his millennium item was showing him though he was being far more cautious then before.  
  
He soon got to a rather large abandoned building and watched as the point on the item dropped, "They must be in here," He said calmly as he slowly neared the building and put his ear to the door though he heard nothing coming from inside.  
  
"It's now or never I suppose," he said as he slowly and quietly opened the door and crept inside. The building was dark and damp and the sounds of rodents and other such creatures could be heard as he slowly walked through the dim light that came from the fogged windows overhead.  
  
'Please be here,' he thought to himself as he slowly edged on to the other side of the building. He took a deep breath and noticed a door on the other side and bit his lip. He crept closer to the door and put his ear to it. He heard faint voices coming from inside.  
  
"I wonder what he wants us for anyway," came a female voice. He immediately recognized it as Kara's and breathed a sigh of relief. It was clear that she wasn't talking to herself so that meant that Yugi had to be with her.  
  
"I don't know what he wants and I'd rather not find out," Yugi's voice said from the other side of the door, "Lets just hope we can find a way out of here before he comes back to finish what he's started. Whatever that is."  
  
It was obvious that whoever had 'kidnapped' them wasn't around which made Ryou feel much more confident as he slowly opened the door wincing at the screeching sound it made as he slowly crept inside to the frightened faces of his friends which soon turned to relief as they realized he wasn't their captor.

Derek stared hopelessly at his hand, and suddenly realized that he had forgotten his monster's effect. He clapped his hand to his forehead. It was staring right in the face. Literally. His dragon was eyeing him. Was this normal holographic behavior? He shook it off. "I activate Armed Dragon's special ability. By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy 1 monster with an attack equal to or less than the attack of my dragon! And I pick Horus!"  
  
His opponent winced as Derek picked out a card and slid it into the graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. Derek's dragon reared its head, and with seemingly great difficulty, exhaled a ball of emerald fire, which enveloped Horus, who shrieked in pain before exploding. His opponent smiled, though Derek couldn't see it as he was masked.  
  
"Thank you," said the cloaked figure rather pleasantly. Derek looked on confusedly. His opponent explained, "By sending a Fire Attribute monster to the Graveyard by your card effect, I only have to discard a card to Special Summon this. Go, Fire the Flame Master!" A strapping young man with wavy blonde hair dressed in red and black rose in front of him, with a grim expression on his face. (8/2800/2500)  
  
"Firen has many special abilities," his opponent went on, in response to Derek's look of horror. "Here's one: I can equip this Magic Card to him from my deck whenever he's Special Summoned! Burning Scimitar!" Firen created a small marble-sized ball of fire in the center of his palm, before it erupted into a flaming saber, which he now clutched. Derek paled. "I hope you're done," said the cloaked figure, reminding Derek that it was still his turn.  
  
"I'll place this card face-down, and I'll end my turn." Derek discarded 1 card from his hand per the effect of Inner Character, then drew a card.  
  
"Finally," mumbled his opponent as he drew. "Perfect. First I'll return the card I discarded to my hand by its effect. Sinister Serpent!" The snake slithered out of his graveyard slot and into his hand. "I then activate Card of Demise, which lets me draw cards until I have 5 cards in my hand, so I draw three cards." As he drew, his eyes showed just how pleased he was with his draw, which made Derek more and more uncomfortable. "I'll activate Diamond Mine! First, I discard two cards." He did so, and as he did, Derek could catch sight of him discarding his Sinister Serpent. "From now on, I draw an extra card during my Draw Phase. Then I'll place this card face-down, and summon my last card, Blade Knight in attack mode." The blue-armored knight stood, ready for combat. (4/1600/1000) "And since I have no cards in my hand, Blade Knight increases its attack to 2000!" Derek looked on as the saber Blade Knight was wielding glowed blue.  
  
"Go! Firen! Attack Armed Dragon!" Firen's attack rose to 3600, and Blade Knight's to 2800. Firen rushed forward and did a graceful leap before landing and slashing Derek's dragon from head to tail. It roared painfully before it exploded. As it did, a little burst of flame flew out and hit Derek in the chest, reducing his Life Points even further in addition to the damage he took. "That's one of the effects of Burning Scimitar," explained his opponent as Derek went down to one of his knees. "When Firen equipped with this destroys a monster as a result of battle, you take an additional 500 points of damage." (Derek's LP: 6300)  
  
"Now Blade Knight! Attack him directly!" commanded the cloaked figure. "Not so fast," coughed out Derek. "I activate Nightmare Mirror. By discarding a card from my hand, I can reflect the direct attack at you." He slid the card into the graveyard slot, and the dark mirror appeared. Blade Knight bounced right off of it, and some energy from the attack blasted out at his opponent. The force of the blast blew off his cloak, revealing silver-streaked black hair, a black vest over a white T-shirt, a black belt, black slacks, and combat boots. (Opponent's LP: 7000)  
  
"Nice move," commented his opponent dryly. He tugged off his bandana and threw it aside. "Now let's finish this."

Kara and Yugi looked up as Ryou stepped through the door, at first thinking it was their captor they both froze in fear. They didn't want to see that shadowy figure again, for anything. However when they saw it was Ryou they both breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Ryou, you found us," Yugi piped up. "But where are the others?"  
"I kind of lost them," Ryou responded as he walked further into the room. "I didn't notice."  
"It's really dangerous to be here alone," Kara told him. "Untie us quickly, that way if anything happens we'll be able to fight together."  
"Sorry missy," a dark and deep voice chuckled as Ryou was grabbed from behind. "That's not going to happen."  
  
The figure trapped Ryou's arms to his sides, making it harder for him to move and lifted him off the ground.  
"There's no use struggling," the figure told them as Ryou put up a fight. "I'm much stronger than you." Ryou had no choice but to cease his struggles, and soon found himself tied to another pole just to Kara's side. The figure snickered quietly as he walked back towards the door.  
"I have what I came for, i'm sure the master will be pleased."  
"What are you talking about?" Kara asked. "Who sent you?"  
"Sorry, not your concern, yet." The figure once again turned and left the room, making sure the door was locked tightly behind him, leaving the three in the room without any means of being found.  
  
Meanwhile, the others had given up hope of finding Ryou, he'd gone way too far ahead and there was no possible way of finding him, Kara or Yugi. Joey leant against the wall of one of the warehouses and looked at the darkening sky. It was late evening and they had no clue as to where their three friends were.  
"How are we going to find them now?" asked Joey.  
"Without Ryou's ring or Kara's necklace, we can't," Tea told him.  
"I could try asking Yugi again," Yami put in. "But he still wouldn't know where he is."  
"There is one person who could help," Duke offered. "Bakura."  
"Yeah but he's disappeared somewhere," Tea told him. "Finding him is going to be as hard as finding Kara, Ryou and Yugi."  
"Great, just great," Joey moaned.

Derek's opponent grimaced as he realized there were no moves left for him this turn. "I'll end my turn," he muttered, somewhat disgruntled. "Good," commented Derek as he drew. "My move."  
  
He examined his hand closely before making his next move. "I activate the Magic Card Monster Reborn! This allows me to resurrect one monster from any Graveyard, and I select Armed Dragon LV5!" The dragon rose once more, snarling and snapping. "Then I'll place this card face-down, and end my turn."  
  
"It's over," muttered his opponent. His expressions were just like Derek's. "My move. I draw."  
  
Meanwhile, Teresa had woken up more refreshed than before, taken a shower, and was thinking about where to go for dinner, when suddenly two suited men popped out of nowhere. "We've found you at last, Miss Kim."  
  
"Oh crap," moaned Teresa, and she sprinted down the street at full speed, with the suits in full pursuit. She made a sharp turn down an alley and managed to lose them. She kept running however, as she knew they would find her.  
  
The suits were panting and out of breath. One of them tapped a badge on his collar and spoke into it. "Agent Seven to Chopper Nine. We've located Miss Kim. She's in the Domino Harbor area. I repeat, she's around Domino Harbor. Over."  
  
The reply came back swiftly. "Roger that, Agent Seven. Send in the reinforcements to prevent her from escaping, and if you find her first, remember to be gentle. We can't let her get away. Over."  
  
"Roger that, Chopper Nine. Agent Seven out." He looked up briefly to see a grey military helicopter soar quickly in the direction that Teresa had taken.

Tea stopped suddenly then smiled, "Maybe Ryou found them. Who knows, maybe they'll be back home in the morning. On the other hand, Ryou could have been caught as well in which case, it's utterly useless. I hate this. What in the world is going on?!"  
  
"Well, if Ryou's with them maybe he can point us in the right direction," Tristan commented, "That way we don't have to worry about calling in that stuck up Egyptian tomb robber. I'd rather try everything possible before turning to him."  
  
Meanwhile, Ryou groaned slightly as he struggled with his restraints, "Sorry guys. Can't say I didn't try though. Hopefully I lead the others far enough that they'll be able to find us." He sighed slightly not really believing they'd find them that easily.

"Is that possible Yami?" Tea asked.  
"I can try and get through to Ryou with a shadow realm link," Yami confirmed. "But i'm not totally sure if it'll work."  
"Try," Joey urged. Yami nodded and closing his eyes, attempted to get through to Ryou.  
  
Ryou he urged. Can you hear me? It's Yami. If you can hear me talk to me

Derek scrutinized his opponent as he examined his hand. _This duel would be so much easier without that J.Y. card; unfortunately it's not actually on the field, so I can't destroy it_, he thought grimly.  
  
"I sacrifice Blade Knight to summon this monster, in defense mode. Go! Firen! Destroy Armed Dragon!" called out his opponent. "Hold on!" snapped Derek. "I activate Dark Void! By picking a specific Attribute, I can prevent all monsters of that Attribute from attacking. And I pick Fire!" A fissure ripped across the ground, effectively negating Firen's attack. "Damn," muttered his opponent. "I'll end my turn."  
  
"I draw," replied Derek. "And during my Standby Phase, Armed Dragon grows up one more time! To become Armed Dragon LV7!" Now his dragon was fully developed, with heavy armor, and studded with deadly spikes. (7/2800/1000)

Ryou's eyes widened slightly and Kara and Yugi looked at him curiously. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Yes, I hear you Yami. Where are you? Anyway, I found them. Only problem is I got caught too. It wasn't too far from where I think we got separated."

You think? Yami asked. Can you be more specific Ryou? When Ryou told him it was a warehouse with a dark door, Yami sighed and breaking off the link opened his eyes and looked around him. That wasn't much help, in the dark that could be any door and any warehouse.

"Ryou said it was a warehouse with a dark door," he told Tea and the others. "The only problem is which one?"

"We could be here forever searching," Joey moaned. "Especially at night. I hate to say it, but we're going to need Bakura on this one."

Back at the warehouse Ryou had told Yugi and Kara what had happened, and Yugi was surprised that Yami hadn't contacted him directly, but he assumed either way it was good enough.

"I hope they find us," Yugi muttered. "I don't want to find out what this guy plans to do with us. It's obvious we're here for a reason."

"Yeah, but for what reason?" Kara asked. "Although I do agree with you, finding out is not high on my list of things I want to do, right now." Yugi and Ryou nodded in agreement.

Ryou sighed slightly. He knew he hadn't been much good to Yami. He also knew he should have paid more attention to where he was going, and who he was leaving behind for that matter. He groaned slightly and looked up at the ceiling as if praying to god to get them out of there.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Bakura was wandering the streets of the city. He hadn't left after the run in with Shroud. He was worried about his hikari though he didn't want to admit it so instead of leaving again he stayed near though he never let Ryou or the others see him.  
  
At this moment he could sense his hikari's emotions begins to rise. He was slightly frightened and guilty and worried. They weren't strong enough, however, for Bakura to think that anything serious was wrong. He just shrugged it off to his hikari being weak and probably getting beaten up as he often had when he was younger.

Back in the warehouse after Ryou's little chat with Yami, the three were sitting quietly. They'd given up trying to free themselves, the ropes were too tight on their wrists and struggling was only tiring them out. Kara leant back against the pole her wrists were tied to and sighed, this was the one draw back to owning a Millennium Item, practically every magical freak in the world was after you. Yugi and Ryou were both very quiet she noticed, probably thinking about their Yami's she figured. Once again she was thankful she didn't have one, it was less trouble in her opinion.  
"What do you think he wants us for?" she asked, although they'd all agreed earlier that they probably didn't want to know.  
"Our Millennium powers," Yugi responded eventually. "It's always about them. I hope Yami is careful if he finds us and the others. Ryou and Kara both nodded.  
  
It was at that time that the darkly clad figure reappeared in the room, his face totally covered by his hood. He smirked down at the three and stopped just a few feet away from them.  
"Soon enough," he told them. "The power of your millennium items and your lives will be used to power my masters powers back to what they should be, it'll save him time regenerating."  
"What we're going to be part of some ritual?" Yugi asked now that they knew it was definitely them and their powers this freak wanted.  
"Yes, that it is small one," he responded as the shadows in the room began to move. "In this warehouse, no one will hear or see anything till it's too late."

To Be Continued...

* * *

R&R if you want to see more. 


	9. Revive the Light part 2

Disclaimer: Same as the other pages.

Special notice: Once again thank you to BMK and Jaesai for Role Playing with me, these fics are just getting better and better.

Now for a special treat, we have two fabulous duels going on in this chapter but you must read on to see whom they're between and what's going to happen in them. The duels are all courtesy of Jaesai, who is a great duellist in my opinion. Thanks Jaesai. Now on with the fic, enjoy.

- - - - -

Last time: "What do you think he wants us for?" she asked, although they'd all agreed earlier that they probably didn't want to know.  
"Our Millennium powers," Yugi responded eventually. "It's always about them. I hope Yami is careful if he finds us, and the others. Ryou and Kara both nodded.  
  
It was at that time that the darkly clad figure reappeared in the room, his face totally covered by his hood. He smirked down at the three and stopped just a few feet away from them.  
"Soon enough," he told them. "The power of your millennium items and your lives will be used to power my masters powers back to what they should be, it'll save him time regenerating."  
"What we're going to be part of some ritual?" Yugi asked now that they knew it was definitely them and their powers this freak wanted.   
"Yes, that it is small one," he responded as the shadows in the room began to move. "In this warehouse, no one will hear or see anything till it's too late."  
  
- - - - -  
  
"You can't do that!? Kara cried. "Talk about things that simply aren't done! You can't just sacrifice us to someone you know!"   
"I can and I will. Thanks to the last one of you walking into my clutches I can send you all into the deepest, darkest depths of the shadow realm so my master can be fully restored," the creature responded coldly.  
"Why us?" Yugi asked. "Why only three of us?"  
"My master has been regenerating for a long time," the figure responded as the shadow realm finished forming. "He just wants to finish a lot quicker, and human magic and sacrifice will do perfectly, and as for why only three of you is because you're all the remaining strength he needs and are the only sennen item holders near by I could get my hands on." The figure chuckled darkly as the ropes seemed to dissolve from around the wrists of his three captives, but they couldn't escape despite that fact.  
  
For moments later the three found themselves trapped against three tall standing tablets of stone, littered with hieroglyphs they simply could read. Magical energy ropes held them there via there wrists and ankles, and as the magic began to seep around them to start the ritual the three eyes at the centre of the three items began to glow slightly. Matching eyes appeared on their foreheads, as the magic began to twine around them. Mentally it hurt as their energy slowly began to float away on the air and into the tablets themselves. Their minds called out for help, sending a shockwave through the shadow realm and right towards the only remaining sennen item holders in the surrounding area, Yami and Bakura.  
  
In the middle of their continued search for the three missing sennen item holders, Yami suddenly stopped and grasped his head in pain as it began to throb sharply.  
"Yami what's wrong?" Tea asked worriedly as he stumbled and fell against a nearby warehouse wall.  
"Yugi," he responded through gritted teeth. "Ryou and Kara, they're being hurt, I can feel it." The former Pharaoh screamed in response to his light halves pain, he could feel him close by, he had to get to him. Steadying himself he hurried off with the others close behind him, till they came to the cause of all of this, the warehouse with essence of the shadow realm seeping out beneath the doors.

- - - - -

Suddenly, a chill ran through both players as they felt Millennium energies activating. Derek shuddered, and looked up to see that his opponent had the same reaction. "Did you feel that?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Weird; I did," mumbled his opponent. "But whatever it was, it has nothing to do with this duel," he reminded Derek, who nodded.   
  
"Right. I activate Pot of Greed, to draw two cards," he declared. Drawing them from his deck, his brow furrowed as he studied his next move.

Yami felt his body begin to tremble as he walked up to the smaller side door in the warehouse wall. The shadows that were leaking out of the building via the base of the two doors, coiled around his feet. It was a horrible feeling, he had to get in there as he had a feeling that Yugi was in terrible trouble as were Kara and Ryou.

"We need to get this door open," he told the others and quick. "I think whoever kidnapped Yugi and the others is planning to do something seriously bad to them.

"No problem," Tristan responded as he and Joey gently moved him aside. "You leave it to us." That said the two began to smash their weight against the door, trying to break it down and soon Duke attempted to help out.

In the warehouse, the three other sennen item holders were becoming tired and weak. Their bodies were slowly falling limp as their energy flowed away from them, and to say they were feeling light-headed was an understatement.

"We have to try and break free," Yugi whispered weakly.

"I don't have the strength to summon a freeing spell," Kara told him. "I can barely focus my thoughts as it is." It was then they and the creature heard a loud crash and the smaller door was broken open with a loud crack.

"Ouch!" three voices cried. "That hurt." Looking up they spied Yami and the others.

"Yugi!" Yami cried seeing his hikari's rapidly weakening form.

"Yami," Yugi managed to whisper before he lost consciousness. Kara and Ryou held on longer, but they to slipped into unconsciousness their sennen items still glowing around their necks

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes and he ran into the building behind the others. After sensing the strong shadow magic he'd come running. He felt stupid for not listening to his senses before when they'd told him Ryou was in trouble.  
  
Bakura glanced at the others then up at the three unconscious forms strapped to the tablets. He then turned his gaze to the figure whom he could tell was the one causing this. A low growl started in his throat as he glared at the figure.  
"I suggest you let them go if you value your pathetic life mortal," Yami Bakura hissed as his hands went instinctively to his deck of cards, ready to summon a monster to his aid if need be.  
  
He ignored the presence of the pharaoh and the others as he stepped towards the figure who just laughed at him, "Why don't we have a little duel then. If I win, I finish what i'm doing here and take your powers as well and if I loose, they go free."  
"Sounds good to me," Yami Bakura said calmly, narrowing his eyes.

"Very well," said the dark figure in an amused voice. Throwing out his hand, a bubble of force threw Joey, Tristan and Duke against wall, where they were chained. "Let's make this a double duel, tomb thief. You and the pharaoh. You win and I let you all go. I win and I take ALL of your souls. Do we have a deal?"  
  
Yami and Bakura exchanged glances, and then nodded. Their Hikari's souls were at stake.

- - - - -  
  
Derek activated his next card. "I activate Dragon Slayer's Horn! If there are three or more total dragons in our Graveyards, I can Special Summon my Buster Blader to the field!" The purple-armoured monster erupted from thin air, wielding his massive sabre. "Then I'll activate the Magic Card Halted Growth! No monster's attack or defence can be changed." Grinning at his opponent, whose eyes registered shock, he continued. "Buster Blader, attack his face-down monster!" His monster leapt into the air and sliced at the card, but it flipped up to reveal a rocket. His opponent laughed.  
  
"Behold my Satellite Cannon. No monsters of Level 7 or less can destroy it in battle!" The rocket lifted off, and reaching suborbital space, opened up and expanded into a massive laser cannon, powered by solar panels. "And at the end of each of my turns, it gains 1000 attack points. Try stopping that!" He laughed at the look on Derek's face.

"Fine then. You have a deal, whoever you are," Yami Bakura said with a hiss. He didn't even bother waiting for 'the pharaoh' to reply. He knew well enough that Yami wouldn't disagree with the terms while his hikari's life was at stake.  
  
"If it's a double duel, shouldn't you have someone to fight along side you?" Bakura asked curiously as he eyed the figure.

Yami Bakura extended his arm and the duel disk he had aquired expanded and clicked together, as Yami retrieved his and Yugi's disk and deck from Yugi's bag and put them on. Raising his arm his to snapped together, and lit up. The shadowy figures disk appeared from out of nowhere on his arm, and he followed suit of activating it.  
"Who's going to be your partner?" Yami demanded. The figure snickered.   
"Why he's right here," he told them as another shadowy figure wearing a duel disk appeared at his side. "Now let's duel." The LP counters lit up to 4000 LPs and the duel began.  
  
"Considering you're the ones who'll lose," the first figure smirked as they all drew some cards. "You can go first."  
"How nice of you," Yami snorted as he looked at his cards. _Not a bad hand_ he thought as he saw his Queen's Knight, Card Destruction, Magical Cylinder and several other good cards sitting there. _These will really come in handy._ He glanced over at Bakura and gave him a nod to go first, hoping the other Yami would TRY and work with him, for their three friends sake.  
  
Up on the tablets, three sets of weak eyes opened and surveyed the room through somewhat blurred vision.  
'A duel' a female voice thought. 'A big one'  
'Yes' a male voice agreed. 'Let's hope they can pull it off' Kara, Ryou and Yugi looked at each other that was strange, their bond must be stronger when they were in trouble.

"Very well," growled Bakura. "I summon Earthbound Spirit, in defense mode!" The zombie rose out of the ground, moaning its cry. "Then I'll place one card face-down. Your move, Pharaoh."   
  
Yami nodded as he drew. "I place three cards face-down, and then I summon Queen's Knight, in attack mode!" The blonde girl dressed in red and white checked armour rose in front of the pair, wielding a short sword and a shield. "I end my turn."  
  
The dark figure laughed.

"Is that really all you can do?" He drew his card. "I activate Dark Hole! This destroys all of the monsters on your side of the field." The dark vortex spun very quickly, sucking in the two monsters before they disappeared.

"Hold on," called out Yami. "I activate Soul Rope. By merely paying 1000 Life Points, I can summon a level four monster! Go, Beta the Magnet Warrior, in defence mode!"  
  
"Fine," replied their opponent. "Then I activate Graceful Charity. I can draw three cards, and then discard another two." He did so, then played another card. "I activate Tribute Burial! By removing a monster from each of our Graveyards, I can summon a high level monster! I'll choose your Earthbound Spirit, since I know you are planning to summon the Dark Necrofear, and my monster will be my Warrior Dai Grepher." The two monsters popped out of their Graveyards before dissolving. "I use these two to summon Invader of Darkness!" The robed figure rose in front of them, powerful enough to take a large chunk out of their Life Points; and Bakura was wide open. "Go, my Invader! Attack the tomb thief's Life Points Directly!"  
  
Yami activated his other card. "I activate Hallowed Day! This stops all battling, and restores Life Points! Wait! What's going on?" he asked, for his card hadn't flipped up and activated. "Sorry to disappoint you," replied his opponent. "But Invader of Darkness prevents the activation of Instant Magic cards." He laughed loudly as Bakura's Life Points took a heavy hit. (B's LP: 1100) "Oh no," whispered Yami as Bakura was blown all the way to the edge of the shadow bubble. A trickle of blood dribbled out of his mouth, and he was rapidly disappearing into the shadows. Ryou's body was similarly fading.  
  
"Don't worry about me, Pharaoh. Save Ryou," hissed Bakura, face paler than usual. He gave Yami a look. Yami looked confused for a moment, then nodded. "I activate Card Destruction! Now we all discard our hands to the Graveyard, and draw cards equal to what we held previously!" They all discarded their hands and then drew some more cards. Bakura gave Yami a thumbs-up with what was left of his hand. "Very well. I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn."  
  
Bakura shuddered unwillingly.

"My move. I draw." He picked the card up very slowly. His vision was becoming blurry. He shook his head to clear it. "Thanks to Card Destruction, I now have three fiends in the Graveyard!" Their opponent did not respond, but his eye twitched, as if in anger. "I remove all of them from the game to summon Dark Necrofear!" The humanoid demon rose from the ground, clutching a marionette, and ready to fight. "I then equip Axe of Despair, to increase its attack by 1000 points! Go, destroy Invader of Darkness!" Dark Necrofear rushed forward and dealt a heavy blow to Invader of Darkness's forehead, and it exploded. (D's LP: 3700) A small bit of his leg disappeared, though it made no difference to his robed appearance. "Is that all?" he asked coolly, as if this was all a mildly interesting trip. "Yes," growled Bakura, wincing.  
  
"Good. I activate A Bargain With Dark Ruler! By sending my Invader of Darkness to the Graveyard, I can now summon Berserk Dragon!" The skeletal dragon appeared, snarling, and a bit of red lava ran down its chin, denoting its desire to fight. "Your move Pharaoh."   
  
"I draw. I sacrifice Beta to summon Dark Magician Girl, in defence mode!" The pretty spellcaster apprentice rose to defend her master. "I'll place this card face-down. And that's all for now."

Their opponent drew his card, then laughed. "I activate my Magic Card, Card of Sanctity! We all draw until we have six cards in our hands." He drew six, Yami five, and Bakura three. The dark figure grinned menacingly, sizing up the situation. He still had one card face down. The tomb thief had one as well. And the Pharaoh had two, one of which was Hallowed Day. And he knew which one that was. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your Hallowed Day card!" Yami gritted his teeth. "Go! Berserk Dragon! Attack Dark Magician Girl!"  
  
"Hold on! I activate Magical Pigeons! I replace my magician with these pigeon tokens to protect her! And now that she's gone, your attack ends!"  
  
"_Wrong_. I will activate Berserk Dragon's special ability, and use it to attack all of your monsters!" declared their opponent triumphantly. "What?" gasped Yami in astonishment.  
  
"How— could ya— forget— that, Yug? We— duelled it— before—" Joey gasped out. "Silence," ordered the dark figure coldly. "There will be no interruptions. Berserk Dragon, destroy Dark Necrofear and the Pigeon Tokens!" The dragon who had been charging up its attack, now blasted a positive shower of lava balls at the monsters.  
  
Bakura glanced at Yami from the corner of his eye. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I activate Shadow Spell, to restrain your dragon, reduce its attack by 700 points and stop its attack!" he called out, not at all good-naturedly. Black chains sprang out of thin air and restricted Berserk Dragon from any movement. Yami looked at him in surprise. "Thank you, Bakura."  
  
Bakura growled. "I don't need your gratitude, and I'm only in this for my hikari; nothing more. Don't thank me for it."  
  
"He's right you know. Don't thank him," advised their opponent. "I activate Raigeki Break! By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy any card of my choice, and I choose Shadow Spell, breaking its bonds!" A bolt of lightning shot out of the card and shattered the binding chains as the dark figure slid a card into his graveyard slot. "This allows my dragon to continue its assault! Destroy them all!"  
  
The blast heavily affected the two other players, who were blasted backwards from the intensity of the attack, and as they landed on their backs, the dark figure played another card. "I then activate Blasting the Weak! In a Battle Phase in which one of my monsters destroys a monster of yours in defence mode, I can inflict damage to your Life Points equal to half the difference of my monsters attack and the monster's defence. So half of Berserk Dragon's attack is deducted from your Life Points, Pharaoh, since your Pigeon Token was 0. As for you, tomb thief, you take damage since your Necrofear was in attack mode. This also means that it's no longer safe to keep your monsters in defence mode." (B's LP: 800, Y's LP: 1250)  
  
Yami got up slowly. "How did you activate that trap? It wasn't on the field!"  
  
"But the card I discarded with Raigeki Break allows me to activate trap cards from my hand for that turn. I discarded the monster Makyura the Destroyer!" he said.  
  
Bakura laughed weakly. "The drawback of Berserk Dragon is that it loses 500 points from its attack at the end of each of your turns."   
  
"Which is why I'll get around that with this trap. Skill Drain! It negates any and all effects of every monster on the field. Thus my Berserk Dragon's attack will stay at a healthy 3500," he explained to the horror of everyone else. "Of course I have to pay 1000 Life Points to use this card. However, it's a small cost compared to what you've lost." (O's LP: 2700)  
  
Bakura chuckled again. "But you sent my Dark Necrofear to the graveyard. Which allows me to activate this! Behold my Dark Sanctuary!" He laughed as the red fog with its strange eyes and mouths enveloped the field.  
  
Their opponent pursed his lips and muttered,

"A minor drawback."  
  
"Hardly," responded Bakura. "You ought to know its ability, seeing as you know my deck."  
  
"That I do. I place one card face-down, and end my turn."  
  
"My move," growled Bakura drawing his card. Granted, he was looking much worse for wear, but he seemed more confident than he had been a turn ago. Playing the Dark Sanctuary seemed to have lifted his spirits.  
  
"I place three cards face-down, and activate the Dark Door! This makes it so that only one of your monsters can attack per turn," said Bakura.  
  
"Of course, this restriction also applies to you and the Pharaoh," pointed out the dark figure.  
  
"Hmm. It makes no difference. I summon Headless Knight, and sacrifice him to Dark Sanctuary. I end my turn," muttered Bakura.  
  
"My turn now," said Yami. He looked over his hand as he guessed Bakura's strategy. 'I guess I should back him up, rather than taking an unnecessary risk, and going on the initiative.'  
  
"I summon King's Knight, in attack mode." A bearded knight in orange with a broadsword appeared in front of Yami. (4/1600/1400) "Then I activate Monster Reborn to resurrect Queen's Knight. Together, they allow me to summon Jack's Knight!" The aforementioned girl knight appeared on the field, as did a tall blonde knight in blue armour. (5/1900/1400) "I'll place four cards face-down on the field, and end my turn."  
  
"It ends here, all right. For all of you," declared the dark figure as he drew his next card.

- - - - -

Derek winced as he stared up the barrel of the Satellite Cannon. How on earth was he supposed to beat that thing? Ah well, he'd have to try. "Are you done?" asked his opponent. "Yeah," said Derek with a sigh.  
  
"I draw," mumbled his opponent. "I'll place this card face-down, switch my Satellite Cannon to attack mode and I'll end my turn. My Satellite Cannon powers up by 1000 points!" The small energy gauge displayed on the rocket platform from which the Satellite Cannon had lifted off showed the needle rising to the first mark.  
  
"My turn," said Derek. "I activate the Magic Card, Card of Sanctity! We now both draw cards until we have 6 in our hands." They both drew six cards. Derek grinned ferally. Perfect. "I activate Polymerization, to fuse my Buster Blader with Versago the Destroyer, who'll stand in for the Dark Magician! They combine to form the Dark Paladin!" The combined spellcaster and warrior rose in front of Derek, looking at his opponent with an arrogant face. (8/2900/2400)  
  
"Since there are five dragons in total in our Graveyards, Dark Paladin's attack increases by 2500," added Derek. Dark Paladin's attack rose to 5400. "Attack, Dark Paladin! Slice his cannon into shreds!" His monster obeyed, destroyed the cannon, and took a large chunk out of his opponent's Life Points. (O's LP: 2600)  
  
His opponent coughed hard before standing up. "Now _that_ hurt," he admitted. "I activate Vengeful Follower! When a monster is destroyed as a result of battle, I can activate this card to summon a monster of Level 4 or less! I summon the Death Armour Virus!" A blob shaped like a teardrop point down with an upwards-pointing blade-shaped protrusion in its side appeared on the field. (7/0/3400)  
  
Derek frowned. "I thought you said the monster had to be Level 4 or less."  
  
"Death Armour Virus has an effect that states that for the costs and effects of Magic and Trap Cards, I may choose to consider it a Level 2 monster instead," explained his opponent.  
  
"I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn," grumbled Derek.   
  
"My move. I draw," declared his opponent, a new determination in his eyes.

- - - - -

Three sets of weak eyes continued to watch the duel, once again Kara was thankful she didn't have a darker half as she could see what was happening to Yugi and Ryou as Yami and Bakura continued to lose life points. The more they lost the worse it became for her two friends. She wished she could help, but magically strapped to a tablet kept her from doing so. _Come on_ she thought to the spirits. _I know you two are better, you've got to beat him_ Ryou closed his eyes for a moment. This didn't seem to be going so well for the two Yami's. By this time he'd lost more then three fourths of his body as his Yami had lost three fourths of his life points. How could they be loosing so badly? Two against one and they were still being beaten. The thought gave him an instant idea.  
  
God Yami, you really do suck at this don't you? How pathetic can you get? It's two to one and you're still loosing, Ryou taunted through their mind link, Keep this up and it'll be back to the shadow realm for you. You'll be nothing but a bad memory.  
  
Bakura growled slightly and turned his gaze to Ryou who smirked weakly, "You'll pay for that after I win this duel," he said narrowing his eyes and returning to the duel. He saw Yami glance at him with a slightly confused look on his face and brushed it off, waiting for their opponent to finish his turn.

Kara chuckled lightly on looking at Ryou's face, what ever he'd just done had definityly helped a bit, then she looked at Yugi. Yugi seemed to have noticed to, although neither of them had a clue as to what Ryou had said to his other half.

Yami, don't whack your brain over it Yugi chuckled as he saw the confused look on Yami's face. Just carry on dueling

No problem, you save your strength Yami advised with a nod.

No need to tell me twice Yugi laughed lightly.

"I now activate the Magic Card Fiend's Sanctuary! This allows me to summon a Metal Fiend Token to the field!" declared their opponent. A small ward appeared, with smoke billowing all over the place. When it had cleared, a small crouching metal devil took its place, baring its fangs. (1/0/0) "I now sacrifice my token to summon this! Justin the Dark Fighter!" The metal devil disappeared, to be replaced by a humanoid demon. With glowing red eyes, and brown hair reaching to his shoulders, coupled with a blue mask showing nothing but his eyes and a purple armour-like suit, he cut a terrifying figure. (6/2400/2000)  
  
"Since Justin the Dark Fighter can't be selected as a target by monster or Magic effects, your Ghost of Dark Sanctuary can't possess him. Therefore I can safely attack with him! Justin! Destroy the Pharaoh's Jack's Knight!" Justin's fist glowed a dark blue, but as he charged at Jack's Knight, Yami activated one of his face down cards.   
  
"I activate Mirror Force to stop your Dark Fighter and destroy it along with your dragon!"  
  
"Nice try, but Justin can't be destroyed via Trap Cards," commented their opponent dryly.  
  
"Yes, but your dragon still dies!" The Berserk Dragon screeched horribly as the reflected attack blasted into its body, shattering it into thousands of pieces.  
  
Suddenly, their opponent began to laugh, softly at first, then increasing in volume and echoing around the Shadow Realm until soon it sounded as though ten of them were in the room laughing at the same time.   
  
"What's so funny?" growled Yami.  
  
Their opponent shook with laughter. Bakura even thought he saw him wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Thank you. I can't believe you fell for it," he chuckled.  
  
"Fell for... oh no," said Yami, his eyes growing wide.  
  
"Oh yes," hissed their opponent. "I activate the Magic Card Big Bang Soul Tempest!"  
  
"Quite a mouthful," commented Bakura.  
  
"Yes, and it's got quite an effect, too. Whenever a Dark attribute monster with 3000 attack or higher is destroyed by an opponent's card effect, and I have Justin the Dark Fighter on the field, this card does something very special. Watch," he said. A circle of dark energy was gathering around Justin's feet. Suddenly, in a violent explosion, it all erupted upwards, consuming Justin.  
  
"You're destroying your own monster?" asked Yami, confused.  
  
"Yes, but for something much, much better," replied their opponent. As the bright energy faded, they noticed something. Another demon had taken Justin's place, but it was larger, bulkier, with a cape, and some tan armour along with the purple. The purple shoulder pads and spiky hair reaching to his back combined to make him one of the strongest-looking monsters that Yami had ever seen, and he had the stats to prove it. (12/4800/4000) Suddenly, he began to gather energy in the palms of his hands, and the rushing energy formed a powerful vortex, causing a heavy, almost unbearable wind to blow across the field, making Bakura and Yami shield their faces.  
  
"Meet my trump card: Julian the Darkness!" their opponent shouted over the roar of the vortex, then laughing insanely with pleasure, looked on as Yami and Bakura flinched visibly, wondering how in the name of the Millennium Items they were going to defeat this.

_Oh no_ Kara thought. _We're in trouble now_ The duel was getting far worse for the Yami's, they had to win or all three of them would be sent to the shadow realm for all eternity. She turned to look at Yugi and then at Ryou, their bodies were pretty badly faded already.   
Yami Yugi called through their link. Don't give up  
I have no intention of it Yami told him.

Ryou's gaze fell from the battle to the ground bellow them. This wasn't looking good and there wasn't much else he could do to rile his dark half to fight harder. He felt so weak, not only physicly but mentally. He couldn't concentrate.

Bakura and Yami stared wide-eyed at their opponent's newest monster. It was powering up for something, but what? "I'll show you," sneered their opponent, leaving Yami wondering whether he could read their minds. Then he realized that he had spoken his last thought aloud.  
  
"Or rather, I'll show your Hikari's!" With a burst of dark magic, Yami and Bakura suddenly found themselves chained to the tablets, though still in good condition. Yugi and Ryou, however, remained weak, and now standing in the position of the duellists, both sagged visibly, tiredly trying to hold onto consciousness. Yami was sure that it was his imagination, but the two hikari's still seemed to be a little faint.  
  
"What is the meaning of this!?" snapped Bakura angrily. "Don't you think it's fair that your hikari's should have a bit of the pain, and the two of you a bit of the suffering?" asked their opponent mirthlessly. "I will now activate one of Julian the Darkness's special ability! When it is Special Summoned and my opponent has three or more monsters on the field, I go straight to my Battle Phase or start a new one, and Julian can automatically attack all of those monsters with a power of 3000!"  
  
Yugi had barely time to comprehend this when Julian threw a flurry of punches. He winced and drew backwards instinctively, but stopped when he realized that Julian wasn't punching _him_. Instead, pulsing with the energy absorbed earlier, his fists released purple and magenta-coloured skull-shaped blasts of dark energy at the three knights standing in front of him. If he didn't stop the attack, he would lose all of his Life Points when that storm of attacks cleared.   
  
Sluggishly, Yugi reached up to activate a card. As the blasts annihilated the three knights, Ryou winced from the dust kicked up. Yami looked on in horror. However, when the dust cleared, Yugi was still standing. "I activate... the trap... Magic Ruler!" he declared in a weak voice that was taking all of his energy to project. "If all of my monsters are destroyed in battle during a single Battle Phase, I can bring them all back and restore all of my lost Life Points. I haven't lost yet." He smiled weakly at the looks of evident relief on Ryou's and Yami's faces and the look of fury on their opponent's.

"It's not over yet," he said a little more firmly.

Bakura and Yami stared wide-eyed at their opponent's newest monster. It was powering up for something, but what? "I'll show you," sneered their opponent, leaving Yami wondering whether he could read their minds. Then he realized that he had spoken his last thought aloud.  
"Or rather, I'll show your Hikaris!" With a burst of dark magic, Yami and Bakura suddenly found themselves chained to the tablets, though still in good condition. Yugi and Ryou, however, remained weak, and now standing in the position of the duellists, both sagged visibly, tiredly trying to hold onto consciousness. Yami was sure that it was his imagination, but the two hikari's still seemed to be a little faint.  
  
Kara gasped when she saw this, the two hikari's were already weak as it was, how were they going to survive any more of what was going on? She wished she could help them duel as she wouldn't been in the same situation as them or at least not totally, but unfortunately she had no choice but to watch.  
"Are you two all right?" she managed to ask Yami and Bakura.  
"Yes," Yami responded. "I think so." Bakura just nodded an angry glare on his face.  
  
Joey, Tristan, Tea and Duke had said nothing during the whole duel, they'd been too shocked at what had happened so far, especially now.  
"Don't worry Yug, Ryou!" Joey called. "We're with ya man!"   
"That's right," the other three agreed.  
"Thanks," Yugi and Ryou chimed simultaneously.

"SHUT UP!" roared their opponent in anger. Yugi and Ryou both jumped at his intensity, watching him shudder in rage and seemingly, agony. What was going on?

- - - - -

Meanwhile, in the dusty outskirts of town, Derek's opponent declared his next move.

"First I'll return Sinister Serpent to my hand. Next, I'll activate one of Death Armour Virus's effects. It can attach itself to an opponent's monster, being a Union monster. Now watch!" The shapeless blob, which had been motionless only a second ago, sprang to life with a frightening speed. It hurled itself at Derek's Dark Paladin, slashing two gashes in either sides of his neck before it could blink, then clamped itself around the Dark Paladin's neck. The Dark Paladin clutched its neck in pain, trying in vain to rip off the slimy creature. Suddenly, it disappeared, and the Dark Paladin ceased struggling. In fact, it had stopped moving altogether. It seemed that the virus had invaded the spellcaster's body.  
  
Suddenly, the warrior began shaking violently, turning a nasty pale colour, and seeming to grow old. His face wrinkled up, and his eyes bulged in pain before going frighteningly blank. Gasping for breath, he was forced down onto one knee, in the crouching position that denoted defence mode. His sword, which he had dropped earlier, embedded itself in the ground and exploded. As quickly as it had all started, it stopped. The Dark Paladin's head drooped, as though in defeat, and the same blade-like protrusion on the Death Armour Virus extended from the gashes in his neck, forming a sort of collar. Also, the armour the Dark Paladin was wearing looked bulkier, with small spikes jutting out everywhere. Derek was, to say the least, shocked. "What have you done to my monster?" he asked belligerently.  
  
His opponent laughed. "Death Armour Virus has a multitude of special effects when it's attached and when it's not. When it is, the monster it has infected cannot attack, and is forced into defence mode. It can't switch back to attack mode. Its attack power drops to 0, but its defence is raised by 1000 points." Following this explanation, accordingly, the Dark Paladin's defence rose to 3400.   
  
Derek growled. How was he supposed to destroy this virus? "Are you done?" he asked roughly.  
  
"First I'll place these three cards face-down. Now I'm done," said his opponent, shrugging. "I'll draw," declared Derek. "I summon Ruby Dragon to the field!" A stout, but strongly built dragon made entirely of ruby rose beside his virus-ridden companion, roaring defiance. (4/1600/1200)  
  
"I'll use Tunnelling to Headquarters! If all of my opponent's monsters have an attack of 2500 or higher, and all monsters I currently have an attack of 1600 or lower, all of my monsters can attack my opponent directly!"  
  
"Wait a second," interrupted his opponent. "My virus has an attack of 0." Derek shook his head. "That may be, but being a Union monster and equipped to my monster, it's on my side of the field and not even counted as a monster." His opponent grumbled assent.  
  
"Anyways, I can sacrifice my Ruby Dragon to summon a Sapphire Dragon from my hand or Graveyard! Go, Sapphire Dragon!" Another dragon, taller and slimmer but more vicious-looking, and sapphire from head to talon materialized in front of Derek. "Then I activate Premature Burial, to resurrect Ruby Dragon for a payment of 800 Life Points!" The Ruby Dragon popped up yet again and Derek's Life Points dropped a bit, slightly lessening his lead, though it wouldn't really matter after this next move. (D's LP: 5500) Go, my dragons! Attack this guy directly!" The two dragons lunged and sprayed ruby red and sapphire blue flames at his opponent.  
  
"I don't _think_ so," commented his opponent dryly. "I know as well as you do that if these attacks go through, I'll be killed. So I activate this trap: Magic Cylinder! I'll reflect your Sapphire Dragon's attack right back in your face!" A pair of cylinders marked with magical symbols and question marks appeared in midair. One sucked in the blue flames, negating the attack. The other one spat them back out, directly at Derek, taking out a large portion of his Life Points. (D's LP: 3600) Derek's lead only spanned 1000 points now. Having reeled back from that assault, Derek now got up, and added "But Ruby Dragon's attack still goes through!"   
  
"Nope," replied his opponent. "I activate this Magic Card: Command Silencer! I can stop all attacks this turn, and then draw a card." As he did so, Derek fumed. He could have easily used that during his first attack, and stopped all further attacks from him. But he chose to reflect the attack instead, and damage him. This person was indeed an excellent duellist.  
  
"I'll end my turn," grumbled Derek.

"I'll draw," declared his opponent.

- - - - -

R&R If you want to see what other twists are going to appear in these two fabulous duels.


	10. Revive the Light part 3

Disclaimer: Same as other pages.

Special notice: Thanks again to BMK and Jaesai who helped me create this fic, you pair are great.

Now you want to see how the two duels turned out? Want to see who won? Then here are those two duels, once again done by Jaesai, who put a lot of time and effort into these, nice going and thank you.

- - - - -

Derek laughed heartily as his opponent made to activate a card. "What's so funny?" Derek replied, still laughing, "It's the fifth turn after the activation of Card of Demise, which means you discard your entire hand!" His opponent's jaw dropped, showing that he had completely neglected to count the turns. Obviously, he had expected to defeat Derek in a shorter amount of time. "I can't believe I forgot!" he exclaimed as he slid his entire hand into the Graveyard. "No matter though. I activate Disgraceful Charity! I return all cards sent to the Graveyard from my hand or Deck this turn back to my hand!" Saying this he pulled back all of the cards he had discarded.

"I'll place a card face-down, then activate this Magic Card to destroy it! Mystical Space Typhoon!" A face down card appeared briefly before being shattered by a powerful storm. Derek was confused by this move.

"Why destroy your own face-down card?"

"Because its effect only activates when it's destroyed, of course!" replied his opponent. "The card I destroyed is called Statue of the Wicked. When it is destroyed, I can summon a Wicked Token to my side of the field." A golden statue with the body of a devil, and wearing a golden pharaoh's mask appeared. (4/1000/1000) "Then I activate the Magic Card Tribute Doll. I can sacrifice just one monster (with this doll taking the place of the second monster) to Special Summon a Level 7 monster, provided that it can't attack during this turn. I sacrifice the Wicked Token to summon this: Freeze, Lord of Ice!" A young man dressed in white and blue with a blue cape, with bluish-grey hair sticking up all over the place untidily and grey boots appeared in front of his opponent.

Surprisingly, Firen and Freeze shook hands as Freeze reached the field.

"If they're the embodiments of fire and ice, shouldn't they be mortal enemies, rather than friends?" queried Derek.

"That's what it would seem like, but these two share a powerful bond. And I will demonstrate this power. First, though, Freeze has an ability similar to Firen's that allows me to equip a special Magic Card on his. Frozen Sword!" A marble of ice formed in Freeze's palm before shooting out into a long sword, jagged and pointy. "Next, as long as each exist on the field, they both gain 600 attack points!" Both Firen and Freeze glowed, and their attacks rose to 3400. "Lastly, as long as these two are the only monsters on my side of the field, I can bring a powerful magic card from my deck into my hand!" Pulling out a card from his deck, his opponent revealed it to Derek. "Arctic Eruption!"

"But what does that _do_?" snapped Derek impatiently.

"All in good time," replied his opponent with an air of thoughtfulness.

"Fine," replied Derek with a hiss. "I'll activate this trap card. Darkforce Sword!" A long sword of black metal appeared amid sparks of dark magic. "I can only activate this card during one of our Main Phases, and it can seal one of your cards on the field from the game for three turns! And I'll seal your Lord of Ice!" The sword flew with impossible speed and pierced Freeze's heart. His face contorted in pain for a moment before he was removed from the field.

His opponent shrugged. "Big deal. I'll summon Thunderbolt Knight!" A knight wearing less armour than the conventional medieval commonplace icon appeared, with thunderbolts all over his purple armour, and his sword in the shape of a jagged lightning bolt, his shield embossed with one. (4/1600/1800) "Whenever it attacks, I can discard a card from my hand to destroy the monster it's battling during the Damage Step. Otherwise, during my turn, I can discard a card from my hand to destroy any card on the field! Of course, I can only activate one of these abilities every turn," he conceded.

Derek groaned. How many more of his opponent's powerful cards would he have to put up with until victory was decided?

- - - - -

Yugi stared at their opponent, now wheezing in pain. "Are…are you okay?"

His opponent stared wildly at him, then seemed to come to. Taking a deep breath, he stood back up.

"You forgot a minor detail: If Magic Ruler successfully activates, you must pay 1000 Life Points."

"Hold on!" shouted Ryou. "I activate this trap! Share the Cost! The cost for all cards played is halved, but all players must pay!" Their opponent raised an eyebrow. "You would sacrifice your own Life Points to save your partner?" Ryou hesitated and then admitted, "Yes."

All of their Life Points dropped by 500. Ryou winced as more of himself disappear until all that was left was his grimacing face and the arm with the Duel Disk. (B's LP: 300, Y's LP: 750, O's LP: 2200) Bakura remained untouched.

"What's going on?" Yami asked angrily.

"The cost of losing Life Points is still paid for by your Hikari's. Even though you're chained up there, the rules of this Shadow Game state that your Hikari's will be sacrificed, and not you. Well, for the moment, anyways," reflected their opponent. "Soon you will all be taken by the shadows."

"Shut up and duel," hissed Bakura. Kara then noticed that Bakura and Ryou had switched positions via the Millennium Ring and that Ryou was hanging from the tablet yet again. Their opponent observed this with mild amusement. "I really should have that ring destroyed. And don't try it Pharaoh, the Tomb Thief's bond with his Hikari is, unfortunately, far stronger than yours."

"What!?" said Yami, stunned. Kara looked on, fascinated. Could it be? Was it possible that Bakura was actually feeling something for Ryou?

"Duel already," repeated Bakura. Their opponent chuckled. "Very well. I activate another one of Julian's special abilities. By removing a Dark attribute monster from my Graveyard, I can remove one of your monsters from the game. Go! Soul Punch!"

A semi-transparent form of Invader of Darkness floated out of his Graveyard slot and imbued Julian with a dark force. His fist now glowing bright amethyst, he charged forward, then stopped just short of Jack's Knight before throwing a heavy punch and blasting Jack's Knight so far that he went through the edge of the bubble before disintegrating. "Of course, now Julian can't attack until I've drawn at least 2 more cards, but that's not too bad a price. Oh, and you are allowed to draw a card."

Weakly, through very blurred vision, Yugi picked up a card and almost collapsed.

Bakura growled. He had to defeat this madman before the Pharaoh lost his other half. "I draw," he rasped.

He considered his options. Apparently, Julian had inherited Justin's immunity to Dark Sanctuary otherwise he would have made their opponent pay dearly for trying to attack. But he still had one option open to him.

"I activate this Magic Card: Grasping Darkness! I can select any monster I want from my deck and summon it provided I pay the costs. I can also pay all of the costs from my deck! I am going to summon one of my most powerful creatures. And first, I need to activate this Ritual Magic card. Advent of the Dark Lord! Next, I need to sacrifice 9 levels worth of creatures. I'll sacrifice my Dark Ruler Ha Des and Ghost Duke! Now, behold! My most powerful creature! Myotis, Dark Lord!"

A blast of dark energy issued from Bakura's deck, and landed on the field with a violent explosion. As the smoke cleared, they could see a skeletal figure, in a black cloak fastened by a small skull, wearing a purple mask that covered the upper half of his face but left his long pale yellow hair tied in a thin ponytail exposed, and his pale white skin accentuated by his burgundy suit under the cloak and dark black shoes. This was all garnished with his white eyes and long, sharp fangs. But what was most striking was the fact that darkness seemed to be gathering around him in a continually sweeping movement, so that it looked like a black aura surrounded him. (9/3300/3100)

Their opponent chuckled. "Am I supposed to be afraid of that creature?"

Bakura chuckled as well. "Considering its special abilities, yes, you ought to be."

"Yami," Kara managed to whisper. "You can't switch places with Yugi, but your bond should be able to share your strength with him."

"I don't know if I can switch my strength to him," Yami told her.

"You have to try Yami, for Yugi's sake and yours." Yami nodded and closed his eyes, and both halves of the sennen puzzle started to glow. Yugi felt the transference of energy and his vision cleared somewhat, and he found himself able to stand better, but his strength still wasn't fully restored.

"I've done what I can," Yami whispered somewhat weakened. Kara just nodded.

Ryou had since closed his eyes and was no longer paying attention to the duel. Everything seemed far away, the voices seeming in slow motion. His head spun as it took everything just to stay awake. He knew if he let himself pass out the shadows would engulf him even faster.

Bakura smirked as their opponent glared at him, waiting to see what special abilities this new monster might possess. Bakura quite enjoyed toying with him as he slowly went through his hand, gazing at each one and chancing several glances at their new found enemy.

Their opponent stared down the Dark Lord, seemingly unimpressed.

Bakura laughed.

"You don't believe me? Well, first of all, Myotis gains 400 attack points for every Dark attribute monster on the field." Myotis's attack rose to 4100. "Normally I can also pay 1000 Life Points to take control of a Dark attribute monster on your side of the field, but..." He glanced at his Life Point counter. (B's LP: 300)

"I will activate Pot of Greed, to draw two cards. I'll place a single card face down, since Dark Sanctuary permits me to use my Monster Zones as Magic or Trap Zones. Next, I'll Normal Summon The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams, in attack mode!" The skeleton monster appeared, sitting in a badly made bed, holding a rusty sword and shield. (4/1300/1800) "I sacrifice this monster for Dark Sanctuary's upkeep! Now watch!" As the ghost started to fade away, Myotis swooped upon it, and sinking his fangs into it, seemed to suck out part of it's essence, and powered himself up. "Whenever a Dark or Light monster is sacrificed, Myotis absorbs half of that monster's attack until I draw a card! So Myotis gains another 650 attack!" Myotis's attack increased to 4750.

Their opponent laughed.

"Too bad. You're 50 points short of even matching my Julian the Darkness in attack points."

Bakura grinned.

"That's what you think. I activate a trap! Cunning Capture! By discarding a Dark attribute monster from my hand to the Graveyard with an attack of 800 or less, I can summon Skull Tokens to your field!" Sliding Skull Servant into the Graveyard, three Skull Tokens appeared beside Julian. (1/100/100)

Their opponent snorted.

"What's the point of this?"  
"At the end of each of my turns, one Skull Token is sacrificed. Then I have a choice of damaging you by 500 points, discarding a card from your hand, reducing your monster's attack until the end of your turn by 500 points, or increasing my own Life Points by 500. I will end my turn, and I choose to reduce Julian's attack by 500!" One of the Skull Token's disappeared, and Julian shrank very slightly, so slightly that there was almost no change. His attack was now 4300. "And since Skull Token was sacrificed, Myotis gains half of its attack!" Myotis's attack rose by 50 points, to match Julian's, at 4800.

"Oh, and one more thing. Whenever a monster is removed from your side of the field by my card effect, you take 300 points of damage." He chuckled as their opponent winced from the pain of the Shadow Game. (O's LP: 1900)

"Now... it's... my turn," choked Yugi as he drew another card. "I activate... Pot of Greed..." Painfully sliding the card into the slot, he picked up two more then grinned in satisfaction. "I'll place this card face-down... then I'll sacrifice Queen's Knight and King's Knight to summon Dark Magician!" The spellcaster, dressed in its familiar purple armour, appeared to defend its master. (7/2500/2100) "I end my turn," he declared a little more firmly. Even with the strength lent to him by Yami, he was barely able to stand.

"My move," hissed their opponent venomously. "I'll place this card face-down, and end my turn." Julian's attack reverted to 4800.

"I draw," said Bakura coldly. "The attack Myotis gained is now null." Myotis's attack dropped to 4100. "I now summon The Portrait's Secret, and I sacrifice it for Dark Sanctuary's upkeep." A grotesque painting with a ghost lolling out of it appeared in front of Bakura, gruesome in every way, before fading into the shadows. (4/1200/1500) "And now Myotis gains half of its attack." Myotis again sucked out the essence of the monster, and powered up to 4700.

"I activate my last card. Token Thanksgiving! I destroy all tokens, and gain 800 Life Points for each card. Of course, due to another effect of the Skull Tokens, whenever they are destroyed, they are also sacrificed! Which means I still get their abilities, and Myotis gets another 100 points!" Myotis's attack was again equal to Julian's, at 4800, and Bakura's Life Points received a major boost. (B's LP: 1900) Yami was, to put it lightly, amazed. He had never seen Bakura duel with this much determination, passion, or reason before. It was like Bakura had seriously turned over a new leaf.

"I will also use the Skull Tokens' abilities to lower Julian's attack by 500 points each!" Julian's attack dropped to 3800, and there was a definite decrease in its size.

"You're finished now!" declared Bakura, laughing in a surprisingly loud tone. He was ready to declare the finishing move of this duel.

Kara cast a side long glance at Ryou, he didn't look so bright and Yami had noticed this to.

"Stay strong Ryou," she whispered. "Bakura and Yugi WILL win this."

Ryou opened his eyes slightly and glanced over at Kara, seeming to have heard what she'd said even though they were so far from each other. He smiled weakly to her and gave her a slight nod of reassurance before turning his gaze to watch the duel.

- - - - -

Derek's opponent's eyes rested for a fraction of a second on his dragons, before darting back to his own hand. "I'll discard Sinister Serpent to activate Thunderbolt Knight's ability. Destroy that face-down card!"

"Not so fast, buster. I'll activate the card you're about to destroy. Eye of the Dragon Lord! If a card effect that destroys Magic or Trap cards is activated, by sacrificing a Dragon on the field, I can summon another dragon from my Deck, and draw a card. If the drawn card is a Magic or Trap card, I place it on the field, but if it's a monster, I remove it from the game, and I lose Life Points equal to half of that monster's attack." Ruby Dragon disappeared from the field. "I'll replace it with Emerald Dragon!" An enormous, regal-looking dragon, composed completely of emerald, appeared, staring haughtily down at Derek's opponent. (6/2400/1400)

Derek took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he drew the required card. Holding his breath, he looked at the card: a Magic Card! "Yes!" exulted Derek, placing it in the slot. "I'll set this card on the field, and activate it immediately. Revival of the Diamond Blade! I sacrifice a dragon, and summon this from my Deck! Go! Diamond Head Dragon!" A clear blue, angry-looking dragon appeared from the magic card. Roaring in anticipation, it sat on its haunches and stared hungrily at Firen, who took a step back. (8/3400/?) "Since this monster's attack is equal to the attack of the dragon I sacrificed plus 1000 points, I think it's more than enough to take out your warrior."

"That's what you think," retorted his opponent. "End turn."

"Yes, it is," replied Derek as he drew. "Go! Diamond Head Dragon! Destroy Thunderbolt Knight!" Diamond Head Dragon fired a stream of white flames at the beleaguered knight.

"I activate another effect of Thunderbolt Knight. By removing a Light attribute monster from my graveyard, I can negate an attack on Thunderbolt Knight! I'll remove my Satellite Cannon to fulfill this cost!" Satellite Cannon floated out of the graveyard slot, and Thunderbolt Knight's shield glowed brightly and began to crackle with electricity and grow in size. It easily deflected Diamond Head Dragon's attack off to the side.

Derek gritted his teeth. "I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon, to shatter your Diamond Mine." The windstorm shattered the field of diamonds. His opponent looked surprised. "Funny, I already completely forgot about that card and the extra card I could have drawn every turn."

"So did I, until I drew this card," agreed Derek. "End turn."

His opponent drew a card, and placed it face-down. "And I'll also return Sinister Serpent to my hand. I set a monster face-down, in defense mode, and I also switch Thunderbolt Knight and Firen the Flame Master to defense mode. End turn."

"I think I need to perk this duel up a bit," commented Derek airily as he drew his card. "Won't be as interesting if I only destroy your defenses."

Back in the warehouse, the duel was still raging on between Yugi, Bakura and their opponent. Yami, Ryou and Kara watched from behind the evil figure, whilst Tea, Joey, Tristan and Duke watched from behind Yugi and Bakura.

"This duel is tense," Tea muttered to the three guys. "I don't know if they'll come out of this one this time."

"Don't say that," Joey argued. "This is Yugi and Bakura we're talking about here. We have to have faith they'll win."

"Due, they're losing," Duke told him.

"So what? We can't lose faith," Joey told him. "Now keep the faith."

"He's right," Tristan nodded.

"Thanks Tristan."

Bakura laughed. He was about to claim his victory.

"Go! Myotis! Attack Julian the Darkness with Winged Nightmares!" Swirling his cape about him, Myotis seemed to be channeling the continuous current of dark energy about him into a more potent form. In one fluid motion, he ripped his cape open to reveal a horde of angry, black bats, which all screeched in fury and hunger, flying toward Julian, all glowing with dark energy in anticipation for their feast.

Their opponent suddenly began to laugh, almost as loud as Bakura had been a second ago. The grin faded from Bakura's face, to be replaced with a scowl, and Yugi piped up wearily, "I'm done being surprised. What has Julian got up those sleeves of his this time?"

Their opponent mock pouted, in a cruel imitation of Yugi.

"Boo-hoo, I'm too tired to keep dueling. No more surprises! Boo-hoo-hoo!" At the look on both Yami and Bakura's faces, he went on quickly but triumphantly, "When Julian's attack is reduced by 1000 or more, I can activate his final, and most devastating ability. Big Bang!"

"What the-" started Bakura, but the rest spoke for itself. Julian absorbed energy even faster than Myotis had and glowed in an even eerier way. Faster than one could blink, he had sent up a pillar of dark energy around him similar to the one that had first engulfed Justin to create him. The noise could easily be compared to that of a firing squad all pulling the triggers simultaneously, it was so great that Ryou and Kara both winced visibly in pain, and Yugi sank to the floor clutching his ears. Joey, Tristan, Duke, and Tea were suffering similarly. With an even louder rushing noise, the blast expanded rapidly outwards, engulfing everything around them.

"The Big Bang attack will, if a player controls a monster, reduce the attack of all monsters by Julian's, destroy all monsters on that player's field and discard their hands to the Graveyard," their opponent shouted happily over the storm of noise, explaining his monster's final move. "However, if any said monster is saved, then no further consequence shall befall the player. I activate the Trap Card, Salvation Army. By giving a rich 1000 Life Points, none of my poor cards can be sent to the Graveyard during this turn. Fitting, hmm?" he jeered. (O's LP: 900)

Little Yugi struggled to reach for his Duel Disk. With every last vestige of his strength, he was able to activate his card. "I activate Magician's Select! I can negate an attack on a Magician, and destroy your weakest monster!" Their opponent grinned. Since he had activated Salvation Army, that last bit wouldn't really matter to him.

A magical rune circle appeared, protecting the magician, as Bakura looked on in horror. He had no such card as the other two to protect his own monster, whose attack had dropped to 1000. He could only watch as his most precious creature was annihilated in a split second. He barely listened as his opponent went on. "If a player suffers the full consequences of the Big Bang, one more blow is dealt to that player. Half of Julian's attack is deducted from that player's Life Points!" He laughed exuberantly as everyone else let out gasps of terror.

Bakura continued to look on numbly as a blast of dark energy burst out of midair and slammed him in the chest, completely winding him. (B's LP: 0). As his consciousness began to fade, he croaked out,

"This is my last gift for you, Hikari, and your friends." He painfully activated the only card he had left face down. "I activate Hope of Desperation. By destroying a monster, I can increase a player's Life Points by the attack of that monster. Vessel of the Pharaoh, this is all I can do for you now..." he whispered, crumpling to the floor, fighting the shadows off futilely, as Yugi stared mutely. A beam of light, the soul of Bakura's monster streaked out of his Graveyard, and into Yugi, revitalizing him slightly. (Y's LP: 1750)

Ryou closed his eyes, not wanting to watch the duel anymore. He stiffened slightly, however, as he felt himself slowly disappearing completely, It's up to you now, Yugi, he said through the link that was shared between the two hikari just before he disappeared completely.

Bakura took several more deep breaths as he heard their opponent laugh from his side of the dueling field. He'd failed. He'd lost to this freak, "I'm sorry," he whispered as he felt the shadows loom over him as he slowly faded from existence.

Tears welled in Kara's eyes as she watched her friend and boyfriend disappear into the shadows, if they disappeared for too long the shadows would engulf them forever, but what could she do chained to a tablet of stone. She glanced at Yami, who had his head lowered and his eyes closed out of respect for their lost comrades, but she could also see tears glistening on the edges of his eyes. She then glanced at Yugi, the smallest hikari was staring at where Bakura had been just moments ago. He looked upset and frightened he was now alone.  
'Yugi' she called weakly through the shadow realm link. 'You still have a chance to defeat him. You've got to knock this guy out of the game, you've got to'  
'But how?' he asked glancing up at her. 'How can I win alone?'  
'You're not alone' she told him. 'You still have us; you have Yami me and the others behind you. You've never doubted our friendship to you before, so don't do it now. For Ryou's and Bakura's sake'  
'But they're gone'  
'Not entirely, win the duel and they'll return and if not i'll help you find them'

Kara's necklace glistened slightly with what little power it currently had left, and seeing it Yugi felt somewhat better, as he remembered what it could do.  
"Ok," he told his opponant. "This duel's not done, not as long as I still have life points. So prepare yourself for a comeback."

"You can do it Yug!" Joey cheered from the sidelines.

"You've never lost before Yugi, we have faith in you. Win this duel and bring back Ryou and Bakura," Tea said calmly.

The other two nodded in agreement,

"Do it Yugi!"

Kara smiled at Yugi and he could feel it, what they'd all said was true and as he glanced at Yami who'd since opened his eyes, he saw his darker half smile down at him and nod.

Yugi, however, winced as he drew his next card. Far from revitalizing him, Bakura's card was actually making him feel worse. He stared down at his almost nonexistent body, then looked up to their- no, _his_ opponent. He had all but disappeared into the shadows too. Then again, he was so shadow-like it made little difference.

Yugi stared at the field in a daze, taking in the situation. Thanks to Big Bang, it was now rather scorched and burnt-looking. He looked hopefully at his Dark Magician, who smiled back at him encouragingly. Unfortunately, due to his opponent's Blasting the Weak trap card, having been activated quite a while ago, even switching his monsters into defense mode would put him at risk. "I... place this card face-down, and end my turn," he mumbled, trying to sound strong and resolute, but the toll this Shadow Game was taking on him was too much. And Yami knew it. He strained against the chains that bound him, but it was to no avail.

"I draw," declared Yugi's opponent, sounding amused. "Well, I guess I had better wrap this party up. Julian, attack Dark Magician now! Blackest Uppercut!"

"Hold on!" shouted Yugi, a tinge of desperation in his voice. "I activate this trap card! Revenge of Dark Magic! When you attack, I can resurrect a Spellcaster-type monster, and stop your attack! Be reborn! Dark Magician Girl!"

Dark Magician Girl materialized out of nowhere, and master and apprentice both stared down Julian with such ferocity that the Avatar of Darkness took an unwilling step back.

"Hmph," said his opponent in distaste. "Well, I'll place this card face-down, and end my turn."

Yugi was gasping for breath now.

"I... draw..." The move he made last turn and the relief of having survived, in combination with his earlier suffering were making a heavy impression. Breathing hard, he slid the card he drew into a Magic/Trap slot before collapsing, whispering, "Yami..."

"Yugi!" cried Tea, straining to get to him.  
"Get up, Yug, get up!" yelled Joey, furiously trying to free himself so he could rescue his friend.

"NO!" Yami shouted. Millennium Puzzle glowing, he disappeared along with the tablet then reappeared on the field, crouched by Yugi's rapidly disappearing body, looking on as Yugi was consumed by the shadows. Standing up quickly, he swore,

"I will defeat you, you foul creature!"

His opponent smirked.

"I'd like to see you try. Any more moves?"

Yami looked to his monsters, then mumbled,

"No."

"Good, good. Then I guess it's time for you to lose," replied his opponent, drawing what he thought would be the last draw of the game. "I activate the Magic Card I just drew. Block Attack!"

As Yami watched, Dark Magician was forced into a crouching posture.

"What is the meaning of this?"  
"Remember the Soul Punch that obliterated your Jack's Knight? You ought to be happy it was in attack mode. You took no damage." He stared reflectively at his monster. "However, if your monster is in defense mode, then I can deal damage to you with Soul Punch. So, as required, I remove Berserk Dragon from the game. Julian, Soul Punch!"

An image of Berserk Dragon floated out of his graveyard, and again imbued Julian with a dark force. Fist glowing amethyst, like before, he charged at the Dark Magician, ready to deal the final blow.

"Activate trap! Dark Illusion!"

"What in the Shadow Realm does that do?" snapped his opponent impatiently, but his question was being answered in front of him. In a swirl of dark magic, the Dark Magician... disappeared!

"But... how?"  
"If Dark Magician is being targeted by a card effect, Dark Illusion will grant him immunity to all effects. So Soul Punch is effectively negated," explained Yami with a good deal of satisfaction.

"Fine. Don't be in such a hurry to celebrate. I still control the superior monster," snapped his opponent, earning a glare from the Dark Magician Girl.

"I draw," hissed Yami. He grinned. Excellent. "I now activate the card that Yugi was able to play in his final act of courage! Ritual of Black Chaos!" _Talk about déjà vu_, he thought to himself.

He discarded Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from his hand for the cost of the ritual. A magic circle appeared on the floor, with two strangely shaped lamp-like stands in front of it spewing dark magic all over the place. There was a dark flash, and from the clearing smoke, out stepped the Magician of Black Chaos. (8/2800/2600)

"Now, with my three magicians, all summoned by Yugi in his attempt to take you down, I will do what Yugi gave his very soul to do!"

"What are you going to do?" sneered his opponent, and something in his voice made Yami angry as he was, stop and think. That card his opponent had placed face down could be his downfall. Well, he wouldn't fall for it. "I end my turn," he said in as calm a voice as he could muster.

His opponent drew his card in silence.

"I switch Julian the Darkness to defense mode. Even with your three magicians, there's nothing they can do. I'll place this card face-down, and end my turn."

Yami drew his card and smiled grimly. No matter what, he should win in this turn. Just as he was about to play his card, however, his opponent interrupted.

"I'll activate this Magic Card: Shield and Sword, swapping the attack and defense of all of our monsters. So even if you somehow found a way of hurting Julian, the odds are definitely greater now! And my second card: Royal Decree! You cannot activate any more traps, as long as I have this card!" Laughing loudly, he obviously thought that this duel was in the bag. _Not so_, thought Yami. _For Yugi_.

Yami calculated the changes. Thanks to Shield and Sword, Julian's defense had been raised to 4800, while Dark Magician's attack had fallen to 2100, Dark Magician Girl's decreased to 1700, and Magician of Black Chaos reduced to 2600. Of course, his opponent had reckoned without the card he had drawn.

"I activate the Magic Card I just drew: Brave Attack! All of my magicians combine their attacks!" shouted Yami. His opponent grimaced as he realized that that had Yami's strategy all along: to combine his monsters' powers into one powerful force.

Dark Magician Girl rushed at Julian first, blasting him with a burst of pink magic, leaving a glowing slash. (Total Damage: 1700) Then the Magician of Black Chaos smashed his scepter into the ground, creating a powerful wave of dark magic that rushed toward Julian, smashing into the demon's chest, and widening the slash. (Total Damage: 4300)

As the Dark Magician prepared to finish the attack, Yami's opponent ventured forth a comment.

"As my Julian is in defense mode, I won't take any damage. This bunch of attacks is futile, since all of your monsters will be destroyed due to Brave Attack anyways."

Yami laughed.

"Guess you ought to be plenty surprised. I activate my face-down card!"

"But Royal Decree stops your traps!"

"Who said I was activating a trap? I activate this Equip Magic card, equipping it to Dark Magician! Dark Spear!"

His opponent drew back in fear.

"No! Not that card!"

"Yes," growled Yami. "Dark Spear allows Dark Magician to deal damage to you, even if the monster he's attacking is in defense mode." As his opponent started to scream in panic, saying that there must be some way out of this, all Yami could say was, "This is for Yugi."

Dark Magician charged at Julian with his shiny new spear, driving it through the slash, blowing him to pieces amidst a powerful wind of darkness. (Total Damage: 6400 4800) The resulting blast ripped the Dark Spear from Dark Magician's blast and hurled the Dark Spear at his opponent's chest, which blew him backwards, seeing a heavy drop in his Life Points. (O's LP: 0)

"No...nooooo," moaned his opponent in anguish. "How could this have happened? One of the most powerful creatures in Duel Monsters... and I still lost... No! Please! Please! Don't do it! Please! Spare me!!!" he howled as the shadows swooped on him and devoured him completely. An eerie silence permeated the atmosphere, as everyone stood shocked. The only sound that was heard in those seconds was the sound of the Duel Disk clacking loudly to the floor.

As the shadows began to disappear, and the warehouse coming back into view, Yami stared at the silhouette appearing at the edge of the bubble. Unbelievingly at first, and then more confidently, he whispered,

"Yugi!"

The two ran to each other and stopped just short of each other, their happiness too ample for words. Tea watched them with tears in her eyes, and Tristan and Joey were both sobbing their eyes out on the shoulders of a disapproving Duke, who was smiling wetly as well.

But happiest of all was Kara. Having fallen from the tablet, and realizing the duel was won she jumped up and ran to Ryou who'd also reappeared, completely crushing him in an embrace. Neither wanted to let go, and both wished they could stay like that forever.

Kara finally released Ryou then noticed how sad he looked. She could see tears brimming on the rim of his eyes as she looked into them, before sighing.

"You miss Bakura don't you?" she stated calmly.

He nodded silently,

"He did everything he could to save us and gave himself up to do it. There has to be some way that we can bring him back. He's a part of me and I can't live without him." He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them and pulled Kara closer,

"At least your ok and I have the two Yami's to thank for that."

"That's really sweet Ryou and yes thanks to Yugi, Yami and Bakura most of us are still safe, but Bakura doesn't deserve the shadow realm after what he's done."

"That's really sweet Ryou and yes thanks to Yugi, Yami and Bakura most of us are still safe, but Bakura doesn't deserve the shadow realm after what he's done."

"But how do we save him?" asked Tea. "You lot are weakened from that experience."

"We'll have to try another time," Kara admitted. "For now let's go home and rest."

"Agreed," Yami nodded as they left the warehouse with their things.

"Do you think this is the start of something big?" Joey asked as they walked.

"Possibly," Yugi nodded. "Something big enough to be put right up there with what happened at Battle City. Something I don't even want to think about."

- - - - -

Meanwhile...

Derek looked thoughtfully at the group of monsters huddled on the other side of the field. Shrugging, he declared his next move. "Go, Diamond Head Dragon! Attack Firen the Flame Master!"

"Activate Trap! Back to the Future!" shouted his opponent.

Derek stared in abject confusion. "Pegasus made a card after that movie?"

"Promo," replied his opponent. As he watched, a ripple appeared in front of his opponent, then out blasted the famous DeLorean, leaving burning tire tracks behind it, and the sound of the flux capacitator shutting down. Instead of car doors or an engine, the engine and cockpit space was filled with a capsule. And the door slid open to reveal… Freeze!

"What!?" shouted Derek, now very lost.

"Back to the Future will take any lost monster and bring it back when you attack with a monster of 2500 attack or more. And 'lost' can include monsters removed from the game. So behold the return of the Ice Lord!" explained his opponent.

Derek growled. "I'll place a card face-down. End turn."

"My move," commented his opponent with an air of finishing up as he drew. "It's now time to witness the power that I told you about a few turns ago. First I switch Firen to attack mode. Now I activate the Magic Card I drew! Arctic Volcano!"

"What does that do?" asked Derek exasperatedly.

"See for yourself!" Freeze and Firen both leapt to opposite sides of the field. Drawing their respective elemental swords, they charged at each other at awesome speeds. As they drew closer, they started to glow. Faster and faster they ran, until they collided.

There was a massive explosion, sending up a plume of flame that engulfed the field. A circumference of ice pillars then blasted out from the epicenter of the blast, shattering anything in the way. Finally, bolts of fire and ice shot out, blasting toward the players. Derek winced as they peppered him.

"What happened?" demanded Derek when the attack finished.

"Arctic Volcano has three phases. First, the explosion destroys all monsters. Then the icestorm destroys all face-down cards. Lastly, the meteors burn out our hands except one card each. The end result is this." His opponent pointed at the clearing smoke and afterglow. "Behold! Firzen of the Light!"

Where the Flame Master and Ice Lord had collided now stood a more outstanding figure. Clad in golden armor and a black cape, his spiky green hair was long enough to reach his back. As Derek watched, he effortlessly drew the Frozen Sword. He cut a fine figure indeed. (11/4600/4500)

Derek shook his head in mock sadness. "Pity. That is a great monster, but unfortunately for you, my dragon survives. With this Instant Magic Card! Dragon Sign! This stops all dragons from being removed from the field for the turn in which a dragon would be destroyed by a card effect or as a result of battle. Then it allows me to activate this trap from my deck! Dragon Seal! And lastly, I'm allowed to draw a card." Derek looked on smugly as the clearing smoke also revealed his still-standing Diamond Head Dragon, standing behind a glowing line drawing of a dragon. It disappeared, to be replaced with a symbol on the ground, rather resembling the Lord of D.

As he drew the required card, electricity crackled around Firzen, forcing him to the ground. "Dragon Seal, when activated, puts all non-dragons in defense mode, and all Dragon-Type monsters into attack mode. Then, as long as it's on the field, no non-Dragon-Type monsters can attack. Also, dragons can't be targeted by the effects of any opponent's card." Derek explained this with a bit of pride. It had taken him almost forever to get the Dragon Sign and Seal. And there was one more card like them to go. But he'd wait until later to use it.

"Are you done?" he asked his opponent, whose gray eyes registered surprise. Shaking his head as though to clear it, he nodded.

"I draw. And at the end of any turn, I can reset the Dragon Sign on my field. But it's still considered as though it was in the Graveyard." A face-down card appeared in front of him, with a soul line attaching itself to the Graveyard slot in his Duel Disk.

"And don't try to destroy the Seal," said Derek in an offhand way as his opponent opened his mouth. "It can't be destroyed as long as Dragon Sign remains in the Graveyard." He surveyed the field languidly for a minute before returning to his senses.

"I'll place another card face-down on the field and end my turn," he sighed resignedly as he saw that even with the Dragon Seal, there was no way to defeat Firzen… at the moment.

"I draw," muttered his opponent. "I'll return Sinister Serpent to my hand. I'll also place the card I kept safe from Arctic Volcano and the card I just drew face-down on the field, and end my turn."

Derek drew his card, then laughed. "Yeah! I'll activate this Magic Card. Shrink! This card slashes your monster's attack and defense by half! This allows me to destroy your monster! Diamond Head Dragon, attack!" The dragon spurted a stream of glaring white-hot flames at Firzen.

"I activate both of my trap cards!" responded his opponent. "First, I activate Card of Last Will! When a monster's attack is changed, I can activate this card and draw five cards. The other card is Negate Attack! Too bad for your dragon." Derek didn't see it as he fumed, but his opponent breathed a sigh of relief as he drew his five cards. That had been too close.

Meanwhile, Teresa, still trying to flee, and now sobbing for breath, continued heading doggedly for the outskirts of town. Perhaps she could lose them there.

There was a loud, cracking bang, and a pain filled her arm. Her eyes tearing up in pain, she tripped on some concrete blocks and landed hard, tearing up her clothes even further, and widening and adding to her numerous cuts.

Blinking away her tears, and ignoring her dusty, bleeding appearance, she hobbled on, trying to escape the sound of the choppers and agents behind her.

Back at the duel, Derek placed two cards face-down and ended his turn.

His opponent drew, and chuckled slightly. "I activate this card! Instant Vape! I can select any card on the field, in our Graveyards, or from our hands, and just remove it from the game. And I choose Dragon Sign! By removing that card from the game, Dragon Seal will follow it there. Which means Firzen is free!" Both draconic emblems shattered, the Sign pulling the Seal into the beyond, and the binding forces that held Firzen at bay disappeared.

"I'll switch Firzen to attack mode. Go Firzen! Destroy his dragon!" Firzen charged at Diamond Head Dragon with the sword, but Derek shook his head. "I activate this Magic Card from my deck! By removing Dragon Sign and Dragon Seal from the game, you've allowed me to play the final emblem. Dragon Symbol!" A huge effigy of a dragon's head appeared behind Derek, its eyes glowing, and a fire burning at the back of its throat. Firzen stopped his attack and looked up at the behemoth with surprise.

"This card has many powerful abilities, and here's one of them. When it comes into play, I can halve my Life Points to do the same to you." Both of them were suddenly wracked with pain as their Life Points were drained. (D's LP: 1800, O's LP: 1300)

Painfully, his opponent reached up and set three cards, too incensed to speak.

Derek stiffly drew two cards. "Dragon Symbol allows me to draw two cards during my Draw Phase if I have a Dragon-Type monster on the field. I'll activate another one of the abilities housed in this card. By removing all dragons in my Graveyard from the game, I can blast them at your monster in one single attack by fusing them with an existing dragon… finishing you off. Dragon Spirit Burst!"

All of the dragons in his graveyard floated out as spirits, combining themselves with Diamond Head Dragon, who started to glow bright white. His attack began racking up, until it reached the sum of 9550. Derek limply waved goodbye as his monster fired a blinding white beam at Firzen, whose sword melted from the intensity of the attack.

"Activate trap!" roared his opponent over the noise of the attack. "Curved Mirror Screen! This stops your attack and destroys all face-up cards on your side of the field!"

The attack bounced into the concave mirror, which reflected the beams of white fire into random directions, furiously scattering the energy all over the place. These, however, had no effect on Diamond Head Dragon or the Dragon Symbol.

Derek chuckled. "Dragon Symbol protects any card with Dragon in its name from all card effects that would destroy them. So my monster is safe." He glanced at his now weakened dragon. "Unfortunately, Diamond Head Dragon's attack is reduced to half of his base attack." He watched as Diamond Head Dragon's attack dropped to 1700. "I'll place a card face-down and end my turn."

"My move," muttered his opponent, almost to himself. "I summon Breaker the Magic Warrior!" The red-armored combined warrior/spellcaster rose, wielding a sword and shield. He was emblazoned all over with the symbol of the magic counter. (4/1600/1000)

"When this card is summoned, I put a Magic Counter on him, and increase its attack by 300, to 1900!" Breaker glowed bright blue for a minute, then stopped. "However, I can remove the counter to destroy one of your Magic or Trap Cards!"

"But Dragon Symbol can't be—" started Derek.

"Destroyed, yes, you're right," agreed his opponent. "But only by Magic or Trap Cards! Breaker's effect is a monster effect, which can shatter your emblem! Breaker! Destroy the Dragon Symbol!"

Breaker glowed bright red, and swung his sword in an arc, blasting out a wave of magic that sliced the Dragon Symbol to pieces. Derek, with gritted teeth, placed the card in his Graveyard slot.

"Go! Firzen!" ordered his opponent. "Attack Diamond Head Dragon! Firzen Cannon!" Firzen formed a ball of fire in his left hand, and a ball of ice in his right. He forced them together, and they blasted out a beam of light energy that hurtled toward Diamond Head Dragon. Derek was doomed.

The dragon was completely incinerated in the attack, and as the dust cleared, Derek's Life Point counter beeped at him. (D's LP: 0)

"You lose," said his opponent.

"Not really," replied Derek.

"Your Life Points don't seem to agree," pointed out his opponent.

"Guess they reckoned without my trap. Soul Relay!" yelled Derek.

"What?" exclaimed his opponent, completely thrown. Derek glowed, and it seemed his essence was fighting to get out. "I summon Igzarion Universe in defense mode!" A centaur-like creature appeared, wearing blue armor, and a grimace on his green face as he clutched his lance. (4/1800/1900) Derek's soul flew into the monster.

"Soul Relay allows me to summon a monster from my hand and transfer my soul into it when my Life Points reach zero. As long as I have this monster on the field, I can't lose," explained Derek to his incredulous opponent.

"I end my turn," said his opponent, still amazed.

"I guess I draw then," replied Derek with a wry grin. "I'll return my own Sinister Serpent to my hand!" His opponent raised an eyebrow. "You discarded it via Arctic Volcano," explained Derek. "In any case, I activate The Pillager! By paying 1000 Life Points, and discarding a card from my hand, I can look at your hand and take a card from there! And since I've got zero Life Points, I have nothing to pay but discarding my Sinister Serpent. So lay 'em out, dude."

His opponent took Firzen and Breaker off of the surface of his Duel Disk and slid his hand onto it. The cards there appeared in front of Derek. He looked carefully, and picked the only card that had caught his eye, and they both proceeded to the center of the ring. He took it off his opponent's and slapped it onto his own Duel Disk. "I take Chain Master, and summon him to the field!" A well-toned figure wearing only khaki sweats and a necklace of teeth and wielding a chain with a grapple blade on the end appeared. "With this card, I can search your deck for any card I like and put it in my hand by sacrificing him and 1500 Life Points. But since my Life Points are at zero, I just have to sacrifice him."

The Chain Master fired his chain at his former master's deck, then disappeared. His opponent silently removed his deck and handed it to him. He had a lot of powerful cards, but Derek wasn't interested in any except the one that would bring about the downfall of Firzen. Searching hard, he caught sight of a Magic Card that might just work. Taking it, and sliding it into his Duel Disk, he shuffled his opponent's deck and handed it back to him. He reloaded his deck quietly and they both walked back to their positions.

"I place the taken card face-down… and switch Igzarion Universe to attack mode! Attack Breaker now!"

"I don't think so! Activate trap! Cover Fire! When you attack one of my monsters, I can increase its attack by that of another monster on my side of the field… and I choose Firzen!" called out his opponent. Derek blanched as Breaker's attack was jacked up to 6200, and Firzen jumped behind him to attack. "Counterattack!"

Derek grinned. "It's time to activate the card I took from you. Honestly, I hoped you would somehow involve Firzen in this battle."

"Why?" queried his opponent.

"Because this is the card I took: Contagion of Madness!" declared Derek.

"Oh no," groaned his opponent.

"Oh yeah," replied Derek enthusiastically. "When you deal battle damage to me, I can destroy the attacking monster, and deal half the damage dealt to me to your Life Points. It doesn't matter how much it is. What matters is that it's enough for you to lose."

As the blast encompassed the field, his opponent activated the card. When the smoke cleared, Igzarion Universe was still standing due to Contagion of Madness, and Breaker was gone. And like Derek had said, his opponent was definitely lost. (O's LP: 0) But how was he still standing?

"I also have a last trap in reserve," he commented. "Duplicate Trap! By discarding a card from my hand, I can take a trap from any Graveyard and set it on the field. I can also activate it immediately. And I choose Soul Relay! And the monster I summon is Slate Warrior!" A yellow tunic and green pants adorned this humanoid creature, over his orange reddish skin and blue face. (4/1900/400) His opponent's soul flowed out of him and into his monster.

"But Duplicate Trap allows me to take a trap too," argued Derek. Taking a card from his Graveyard, he set it on the field. "I end my turn."

"I draw," mumbled his opponent. "Firzen! Attack! Firzen Cannon!" Firzen began to form the orbs of fire and ice, but Derek activated his trap.

"I activate an old friend: Darkforce Sword!" he roared. The black sword appeared again, and launched itself at Firzen, piercing his chest, and sealing him from the game.

"Very nice move. I"ll switch Slate Warrior to attack mode during my second Main Phase, and end my turn," said his opponent.

"I draw," hissed Derek. "I'll place this card face-down, and end my turn."

"My turn. It's over," snapped his opponent. "Slate Warrior, attack Igzarion Universe!"

"Activate trap! Sakuretsu Armor! This card surrounds your monster with a reactive armor that will explode instantly. So long, Slate Warrior," shouted Derek. The glowing red armor enveloped Slate Warrior, but before it detonated, his opponent played the card he just drew from his hand.

"I activate Offerings to the Doomed! In exchange for my next Draw Phase, I can destroy 1 face-up monster on the field! Destroy Igzarion Universe!" replied his opponent.

Both monsters glowed, then exploded violently, throwing the two players back. As the dust cleared, they stared at each other in disbelief. It was a tie. (D's LP: 0, O's LP: 0)

They both sheathed their decks and retracted their Duel Disks. Derek walked forward with his hand outstretched. "Good duel, man," he said amiably. To his surprise, the other duelist took it. Somehow Derek had the idea that he would reject him. "Yeah. I can't believe we tied."

Derek was about to say something particularly poisonous to this frankly obvious statement when they heard the sound of metal ripping, and Teresa stumbled out, ragged and bleeding, from an alley as a dumpster behind her crumpled into rust. "Help me," she whispered. "Please," she gasped out, and collapsed.

Derek rushed to her, holding her up carefully. "Do you know her?" asked the other guy dubiously. "We have… an understanding," muttered Derek, turning her around to get a better look at her. "Damn, where'd she get all of these scratches? Holy—! Bullet wound!" He looked up at the other duelist, who hadn't responded. "What's up?"

"Chopper. And people on foot. I think she's being chased."

"No, really," replied Derek sarcastically. "We need to get out of here. I could take her to my apartment, and I can get her some help, but we have to escape the outskirts first."

"Follow me," said the other guy. "I know my way outta here."

Derek rolled his eyes. "You oughta, seeing as how you stalked me out here."

"Can it."

They skulked off into the shadowy alleyways.

- - - - -

R&R and tell me what you think.


	11. Gods Descending

Disclaimer: Same as other pages.

Special notice: Thanks again to BMK for helping me with this. Also thanks to Jaesai for his help and his great dueling skills again.

- - - - -

School dragged on for the teens as they sat there a week or so later after what had happened. Just a week ago someone had kidnapped Yugi, Ryou and Kara and tried to send them to the shadow realm for good. They'd been saved by Yami and Bakura, but at the cost of Bakura being consumed by the shadows. Ryou missed him and that was obvious, he seemed a little more down than usual and anything his friends tried didn't keep his spirits up for long. As they sat outside and under a tree for lunch, he was quiet, not really speaking to anyone even Kara.  
"Kara can't you get Bakura back?" asked Tea. "I mean your sennen crescent finds and saves lost souls doesn't it?"  
"Yes," Kara admitted. "And I have tried searching, but a soul search drains more than most searches does, especially when you search for even the shortest length of time. I guess it's because the shadows get to work at draining you as you move."  
"Maybe we should try combining the powers of the items," Yugi suggested. "That way our strength would be increased and we'd have a better chance. Right Yami."  
"True," Yami agreed quietly. "But i'd have thought he'd have been found."

Kara sighed as she chewed on a sandwich.  
"It's like he's been totally consumed by the shadow realm," she told them. "Like he's totally disappeared." Seeing Ryou's face drop even more, she reached out and placed a comorting hand on his arm.  
"We'll find him Ryou, I promise you."

School dragged on for the teens as they sat there a week or so later after what had happened. Just a week ago someone had kidnapped Yugi, Ryou and Kara and tried to send them to the shadow realm for good. They'd been saved by Yami and Bakura, but at the cost of Bakura being consumed by the shadows. Ryou missed him and that was obvious, he seemed a little more down than usual and anything his friends tried didn't keep his spirits up for long. As they sat outside and under a tree for lunch, he was quiet, not really speaking to anyone even Kara.  
"Kara can't you get Bakura back?" asked Tea. "I mean your sennen crescent finds and saves lost souls doesn't it?"   
"Yes," Kara admitted. "And I have tried searching, but a soul search drains more than most searches does, especially when you search for even the shortest length of time. I guess it's because the shadows get to work at draining you as you move."   
"Maybe we should try combining the powers of the items," Yugi suggested. "That way our strength would be increased and we'd have a better chance. Right Yami."  
"True," Yami agreed quietly. "But i'd have thought he'd have been found."

Kara sighed as she chewed on a sandwich.  
"It's like he's been totally consumed by the shadow realm," she told them. "Like he's totally disappeared." Seeing Ryou's face drop even more, she reached out and placed a comorting hand on his arm.  
"We'll find him Ryou, I promise you." Ryou nodded slightly.

"I hope so. Even after everything he's done I still feel completely empty without him around. He's a part of me." He sighed at that then wrapped an arm around Kara's waist as he took a bite out of an apple and slowly chewed.

Derek ambled up to them with a grin on his face, accompanied by a slash down his cheek. "What's up guys?" he asked, plopping down exhaustedly.  
"Don't you want to see the nurse about that?" asked Yugi, slightly green at the sight of so much blood. Derek shrugged.

"Nah. She's as scared as everyone else." He pulled out a piece of homework and started to work methodically on it. Joey rolled his eyes.

"You really out to cut back on da fightin', ya know." Derek slowly raised his eyes from his homework, and rested them on Joey, who quailed. "Or, you could just... do... whatever..."  
"Dude, you were lucky to escape last time," chipped in Tristan through a mouthful of something, spraying its crumbs all over Joey's leg.   
"Gee, lucky me," said Derek sarcastically, going back to his homework. The rest of the group exchanged glances, then went back to their lunches. He was like this most of the time, and there was no point in trying ot start a conversation.

Ryou looked at him for a moment the grabbed his napkin and passed it over to the older boy speeking in a rather emotionless tone of voice,

"I think you scare people enough as it is, without walking around with blood dripping from your face." Derek took the napkin from Ryou gratefully.

"Thanks dude. It's not my fault though," he added defensively, wiping off the copioiusly dripping blood. "I mean, I ain't asking to be jumped at every turn." He looked at his watch. "Mmm... I need to get home, but I can't afford to cut classes. I mean, I got better things to do than hang around this dump for another couple of hours. So I guess it's time for Plan B."  
"What's Plan B?" asked Duke curiously.  
"You guys don't mind having a free afternoon, do ya?" asked Derek airily. They all shook their heads no. It would be a good opportunity to find Bakura.  
"Great. Plan B should start in 3... 2... 1..." he muttered, staring at his watch. Nothing happened.  
"Oh yeah." Derek pressed a button on his watch. There was a sound of breaking glass, and a muffled explosion. Alarms blared, and the faculty was running around in panic. They all stared, and Tea ventured forth a question. "What... what did you do?"  
"I blew up Bakashi's office. Whaddaya think?" Derek shrugged. Teachers started to herd students out of the grounds.

"I can't believe you, Derek. What if that explosion had hurt someone?" Ryou said quietly, staring at the other boy in shock, then shook his head and glanced at the others, "Lets get out of here before he does something else and gets us all arrested."

Derek stared incredulously at Ryou.

"One, it's lunch. No one's inside. Two, it wasn't a real explosion. Just a bunch of special effects. And three, do you think I care? I get into fights every day." Shaking his head, he left the grounds and headed home.

Meanwhile, in the Kame Game Shop, the bell tinkled as three darkly-clad figures entered the store. Solomon cheerfully began to greet them.

"Welcome to Kame... OOF!" He crumpled to the ground in a unconscious heap. One of them, who seemed to be the leader of the troupe whispered, "Pack him away. Quickly." Another one of the three bent down and deftly began to bind and gag the old man. As the largest of the three put away the steel pipe that he had incapacitated the old man with and impassively stood by, on guard, the leader walked behind the counter and took a golden box down from the highest shelf. Opening it reverently, he stared at the contents, whispering,

"The Gods of Egypt."

The thin one, who had finished packing Solomon Moto into a burlap sack and handed him to the burly one, now turned to the leader, who quickly snapped the box shut and put it inside his trenchcoat. "What now, sir?"  
"The note." The thin one pulled out a slip of paper with an explanation already written upon it and placed it against the wall. The leader, quick as a flash, pulled out a stiletto and with unerring accuracy, threw it and pinned the note to the wall. "Let's go." They made their escape, as clouds rolled across the sky, and thunder was heard in the far distance.

- - - - -

Derek waved to the doorman as he walked in the lobby.

"Afternoon, Mista Boltra," replied the elderly man in a reedy voice. Too pumped to wait for the elevator, Derek sprang up all eight flight of stairs, taking them two at a time, letting himself out on his floor. As he approached his door though, he felt that something was amiss. Terrific bangs were issuing from inside, and someone was throwing things around. Dreading what he would find, Derek slowly pushed the door open.  
"Sure you didn't touch me! What the hell am I doing here?" screamed Teresa as she chucked stuff at a figure hiding behind the kitchen counter.  
"Whoa, take it easy," said Derek, alarmed, as Teresa grabbed a snowglobe. "Calm down," he added soothingly, taking the object out of her hand and firmly setting it down on his bedside table. "You got nothin' to worry about."

He had brought Teresa back to his apartment and looked after her for a week, in which she had lain in a coma. The other duelist, who introduced himself as David, also took up residence, claiming with a grin that "I just don't got a place to stay." Derek had let Teresa have his bed, David the couch, and he took the floor. Guests came first. He smiled at Teresa's face. "Glad to see you're awake."  
"Hi," said Teresa, flushing. She averted her eyes and clutched the blanket closer to herself. "You want a cup of tea?" asked Derek, heading over to the kitchen.  
"Sure. Thanks," mumbled Teresa, still not looking Derek in the face, and she blushed even deeper when Derek flashed her a sincere smile. David, still pretending to cower behind the door, said in a mock frightened face, "Is it okay to come out now?"  
"It's fine, dude," laughed Derek as he put on the kettle. "Introductions. Teresa, this is David, my, er, current roommate. David, this is Teresa, the girl who saved my life."  
"Nice ta meetcha," chuckled David, plopping down in an office chair and rolling over to Derek's desk, where he was apparently working on a spare Duel Disk. It had a Doma-resembling design, with a chunk that swiveled around and extended a scythe-like arm for the cards. The only things different about it were its colors (it was silver and black), the LP counter, and apparently the technology inside.

Derek looked over David's shoulder as the other duelist welded in a metal component. "Don't ya think you made those panels too thick?" David turned off the blowtorch and shrugged. "I'm too used to it. I developed a plating for my original Duel Disk which had electrodes scattered in the glass mix, so when a card is played, all of the nanocomponents can, using different kinds of light, capture the card being played, with no use for an external camera. This eliminated the use of any external components, but thickened the panels not only for more capacity but also for stability.  
"I also built in a computer, instead of relying on a central database, like the ones they have in KC and I2. Of course, I don't have that stuff, but force of habit and the need to store each panel in the one that precedes it sort of led me to make them this thick." He judged the distance carefully, then painstakingly connected two wires. The Duel Disk lit up, and David sighed in satisfaction as the kettle came to a boil.  
Derek poured a cup of tea and brought it over to Teresa, still sitting on the bed, gently removing the blanket and placing it aside. Teresa muttered her thanks, before scooting to the edge of the bed, and watching David work with mild interest.

- - - - -

Meanwhile, Kara, Ryou and the gang had left the school and headed to the arcade to keep themselves busy until the time when school would usually let out. A certain member of the group really didn't need his 'family' finding out that he got out of school early as his 'family' wouldn't believe that there was an explosion at the school. Kara glanced over at Ryou who had his gaze on the ground. She'd been rather shocked at her boyfriend's outburst earlier but decided that maybe it was best to just forget about it. She smiled slightly and brought a hand to his trying to stir him from his thoughts. Ryou lifted his head and glanced at her and smiled back slightly, squeezing her hand, "Something wrong, Kara?" He already knew what was wrong but he didn't really know what else to say. He'd been feeling strange lately and really didn't know why. Not only was he depressed and lonely because of the loss of his dark half but he found he was getting a bit agitated as well and he didn't know why.

"You're becoming a little like Bakura," Kara whispered to Ryou as she returned the squeeze on his hand. Ryou looked at her, was she either crazy or did she have a point? She smiled at him gently.

"Maybe not having him around brings out the side of you you got of him, or something," she told him. "I like it though, a little extra tough never hurts anyone." Ryou flushed slightly and turned his gaze to the ground.

"I'm afraid I don't agree with you. Bakura wasn't exactly one of the nicest people in the world. I might be close to him but I really don't want to be him or anything like him for that matter."

- - - - -

Quietly, Derek left the apartment, and came back later to find Teresa snoozing in his bed, blankets wrapped tightly around her. He looked to David for an explanation.  
"Hey man, I didn't touch her," he said quickly, throwing up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Derek couldn't help but grin.

"I know, dude. Got dinner," he added, holding up a bag.  
"Think we should wake Sleeping Beauty up?" asked the other duelist as he pulled out several boxes of Chinese takeout. Derek was silent.

"Nah. She'll eat when she's hungry." Smiling inwardly, he thought to himself, 'Extra emphasis on the "beauty",' as he adjusted her blanket.  
- - - -

Back at the arcade, Kara and Tea had agreed to have a dance off, although the boys really didn't know why they were having one. They all knew now that Kara did ballet classes, thankfully no one else knew. The boys were actually surprised that Kara was keeping up with Tea, she was good even if she wasn't doing ballet at the moment.

"I'm going to have to watch myself," Tea laughed as she defeated Kara by a really narrow margin. "You'll outdance me one day."

"Maybe," Kara laughed. "But if you don't mind i'll stick to ballet." Ryou smiled as the two walked towards the rest of the group, "You both looked great up there. You should have seen the faces of some of the other guys around here." He pointed over to a group of three boys who were staring at the two. He then chuckled and shook his head. Kara and Tea turned their heads to look back at the boys who were staring at them and chuckled.

"When you're hot you're hot," Kara laughed. "Right Tea?"

"Yeah."

"You know guy's it's getting late," Yugi noted. "We really should head home or something. Hey I have an idea, let's all got o mine and hang for a while. We don't have to be bored at home you know." The rest of the group laughed and nodded, and grabbing their bags followed Yugi out of the arcade.

The others couldn't help but laugh at the spring in Yugi's step as they headed towards the Kame game shop, it looked peaceful enough as they got close that was for certain.

"I'm home grandpa!" Yugi called as they walked into the shop. "And i've brought company." Getting no response he looked around.

"Grandpa?"

"Yugi does your grandpa usually have a stiletto sticking out of the wall?" asked Joey as he walked over and yanked it out of the wall. He unfolded it and read it.

"Yugi, check this out..." he whispered.

It was then Tea happened to glance up and around and noticed that the box with the God Cards in it was gone.

"Yugi, the god cards are gone!" she cried. "Yugi?" She turned to look at Yugi, and found the smaller boy standing at Joey's side trembling.

"Yugi, what is it?" Yami asked as the smaller boy crumpled to his knees in an obvious daze. As Joey knelt beside him, Yami reached out and took the note from his friends hand and scanned it. It made sense to him with the teaching he'd been getting recently, just anyway.

"Gods," he whispered as he knelt down to comfort Yugi, who by then was in tears.

"What's the fuss?" asked Tristan. Yami handed him the note and he, Tea, Ryou and Kara peered at it.

"Oh Yugi..." Kara whispered.

"Uncool," Tristan muttered. "Any ideas?"

"I wish," Tea muttered. "But whoever took Yugi's grandpa took the god cards to."

"Not again," Yami growled. "Why can't people leave us be?"

"There's not much you can do Yami," Kara comforted. "You said it yourself, it's destiny. Someone's after the Millennium Items again, that's for sure."

"Yes, but why can't it wait a while?" asked Joey.

"Because life stinks!" Yugi cried and slammed a fist into the floor, hurting his hand. Yami reached out gently and rubbed it as his counterpart leant against him and cried.

"It's ok Yugi," he soothed. "We'll get your grandpa back. I promise."

Turning his head he looked thoughtfully at Kara, her emerald green eyes gently shimmering in the artificial light above her. His eyes fell onto her necklace, he knew it's power, maybe...

"Kara, could you?" he asked. Kara nodded and stepped away from Ryou, her item tended to get quite hot when she used it. Raising her hands she cupped them around it and closed her eyes, even though her item was gaining strength each time she used it it would still take her some time. She was searching a whole town after all.

Ryou closed his eyes for a moment as rush of nausea went through him with two words seeming to come from it, 'It's coming.' Ryou shook his head and put his hand to his head for a moment. What had that been? The voice he'd heard almost sounded familiar yet distant.

- - - - -  
A dark figure wrapped in a robe stood atop the tallest building in Domino: the KaibaCorp Headquarters. The burly one standing behind him ventured to speak.  
"What if he doesn't come, Lord?" The robed one replied,

"He will, Gringe, he will. Skith, do you have your deck ready?"   
"Yes, Lord Jekk," replied the thin, sinuous one slinking in the shadows, placing a gleam of red in his deck.  
"Then go. Stay upon the streets. Should the Pharaoh escape, I want another God Card holder to destroy him. Graide." He beckoned to the large one, who lumbered forward, big as a gorilla, as Skith disappeared without a trace. "Take this, and go seek out other Millennium Item holders. We had best increase our number of targets." As he spoke, he slipped a flash of yellow into the man's hand. "When you are done with your reconnaissance, return to the Master, and deliver that card to him." Gringe disappeared with a nod. Taking out a card, and slipping it into his deck amid a glint of blue, he murmured to the night.

"Come, my pharaoh. My Gravekeepers and their new god await you."  
- - - - -

Kara's eyes twitched slightly as she focused her powers, she was having trouble searching for things at the moment. It was as if another power or something was blocking her efforts. Barrier upon barrier blocked her, but they were weak so her item destroyed them everytime. That was until a particulalry big one sent her wheeling, but focusing her energy she threw her power at it and it shattered like glass.

"There!" she exclaimed her eyes snapping open. "Atop the tallest building in Domino. Kaiba Corp."

"Kaiba Corp?" Ryou murmured in slight shock, "Do you think that this might have something to do with Seto? Or is it just a coincidence that Yugi's grandpa was taken to his corporation?" He was still a little confused and wiery about the voice he'd heard but right now wasn't the time to think about that.  
"I highly doubt it," Kara responded. "From what you guys have told me, he usually gets dragged into something without really wanting to. I suggest heading their though."

"That ok with you Yug'?" Joey asked as Yami helped the smaller boy up.

"Yeah," Yugi responded wiping his eyes. "Let's go."

- - - - -

Seto Kaiba got a rude surprise as he prepared to return to his mansion after a late night at the office. As Yugi and his friends burst through, he narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Well look at this. The mutt and his friends. Sorry, I don't have anything for you to fetch," he mocked, and Joey's ears went redder than a beet.  
"Listen Kaiba, we don't have time for this tonight!" he yelled, face contorted in rage.  
"Please, Kaiba." Yugi's pleads brought Kaiba to look down upon his face, streaming with tears. For a moment he was reminded, somewhat fleetingly, of Mokuba.

"All right. What do you want?"  
"We need to get on the roof," suppled Tristan.  
"It's urgent. Please, Kaiba," begged Tea. Kara watched with admiration as Yugi and his friends tried to appease the cold-hearted CEO. Never having dealt with the man himself, she stood quietly, surmising that she probably wasn't important enough for the businessman's notice. She slipped her hand into Ryou's, who squeezed it comfortingly. He stayed silent around Kaiba too.  
"All right. Here." He swiped a card down a pad, activating the elevator. "What happened?"  
"Come along and you'll see," said Ryou somewhat quietly, still holding Kara's hand. Kaiba turned to the two, as though noticing them for the first time. Kara had read him correctly. He had barely noticed they were there.

As the doors opened and the gang rushed out, followed by Kaiba in his disdaining fashion, they looked around for the person mentioned by the note. Suddenly, Joey shouted,

"There!" He was pointing to a robe-wrapped figure, standing silently, overlooking the city. Yugi ran forward. "Give me back my grandpa!"  
"Don't you want your Gods?" asked the man. His voice was calculated and precise.  
"Give 'im back everything you stole! I'll give you a butt-whupping in return!" challenged Joey. The man chuckled. With a swift move, he sent Joey flying. He didn't seem to have moved at all. Tea and Tristan ran over to administer to him.  
"I will only face the Pharaoh, and him only."  
"Very well," growled Yami, walking forward. "I suppose you want a duel?"  
"A man of action, my Pharaoh?" inquired the man rhetorically as he activated a strange-looking Duel Disk. For some reason, Yami had been expecting something similar to Doma's, but it was a white Duel Disk with only the longer blade attached with a blue orb at the point of attachment. However, when activated, the blade shifted outward, and the shorter blade slid out from under the longer one, and the orb lit up bright red. None of the card slots had the glass over it to read the cards associated with the older version. It was rounded, sleek, and very futuristic-looking, with almost nothing in common with the older contraption that Yami was now sliding onto his arm.  
"What is that?" asked Yugi.  
"It's a prototype 'Next Generation' Duel Disk," explained the man. "It's in development as an improvement to the current Duel Disk," he said, eyes running over the shabbier Duel Disk on Yami's arm, which he had activated. "It is from your company, Kaiba, after all." If the young CEO would have deigned to this blatant display of thievery, he didn't show it.  
"Shall we start, my Pharaoh? My name is Jekk," he added, "and I'm here to dispose of you and your other self, at behest of my master."  
"I could've guessed. Let's duel," muttered Yami, as he drew his cards.  
Kara stood by quietly, she didn't like this guy. It was one of those instant dislikes you got around a person, although there was a just cause for it to begin with. Her necklace glimmered slightly, it didn't like this guy either.  
"This duel won't be easy," she whispered to no on inparticular. She cast a glance at Kaiba. The CEO just stood there; the look on his face suggested he was contemplating something or other, but it didn't portray what. Should I search for your hidden thoughts? Kara wandered eyeing him. Deciding against it she turned back to watch the duel.

"I'll start," announced Jekk. "First, I activate the Magic Card Gravekeeper's Servant!" An eerie green moon appeared overhead, and the shadow of some creature could be seen flying past it. "As long as this card remains on the field, every time you attack, you must discard one card from the top of your deck. Next, I'll place a card face-down and summon a monster in face-down Defense Mode. End turn."

"I draw," muttered Yami. "I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" The metallic creature, armed with a short sword and horseshoe magnet shield, appeared, brandishing its weapon at Jekk. (4/1400/1700) "And I'll have it attack your face-down monster!"

Alpha slashed at the face-down monster, tearing it in two and blowing it to bits.

"Your monster if vanquished!" shouted Yami.

Jekk chuckled.

"Really?" He picked up the card and revealed it. "An Owl of Luck! When this monster is flipped, I can take a Field Magic Card from my deck and place it on top." He searched his deck quickly, before pulling out one card, slapping it on top, and replacing his deck. "And you must discard a card from the top of your deck." Yami did so, losing his Dark Magician Girl.

"I place one card face-down, and end my turn."

"I draw," said Jekk with a smile on his face. "I'll play the Field Card I just drew! Necrovalley!" The blade part of his Duel Disk shifted out even further. It seemed that the Field Magic Card slot was contained in the arm holding the blade. Sliding the card into the zone, the blade shifted back. Mountains sprang up on either side of them, and a glowing sun appeared behind Jekk. Behind Yami, in the far distance, pyramids could be seen.  
"Then I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" The black-robed Gravekeeper, clutching an ornate gold and silver spear materialized. (4/1500/1000) "Due to Necrovalley's effect, he gains 500 attack points, raising his attack to 2000! Attack Alpha now!" The Spear Soldier stabbed viciously at Alpha.  
"Activate Trap!" roared Yami. "Magic Cylinder! This trap deflects the attack of one of your monsters to your Life Points!" The strangely-decorated tubes appeared, one absorbing the attack, the other firing a beam of energy at Jekk.

Jekk, however, pressed a button.

"I activate Barrel Behind the Door! This trap will switch damage done to me to you instead! Too bad, my Pharaoh." The golden gun-shaped instrument appeared, absorbing the attack of Magic Cylinder, then firing a thin golden beam at Yami, who gasped and clutched at his chest. (Y's LP: 2000) Yami narrowed his eyes as he stood up.

"Why do you keep calling me your Pharaoh?"  
"Because, my Pharaoh," said Jekk, smiling, "I am one of your servants." Throwing off his robe, he revealed Egyptian tattoos all over his chest, back, and arms. Everyone was strongly reminded of Marik.

"Yes, Marik is a cousin of mine," chuckled Jekk, as though reading their minds. "We are of a different clan of Gravekeepers. Slightly more devoted and violent in our ways, we still guard the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs."  
"Then why are you fighting me? Do you resent your duty?" asked Yami.  
"No. I simply believe that my master's authority is greater than that of the ancient pharaoh," he replied. "I place one card face-down, and end my turn." Yami, rather confused about the turn of events, drew his card quietly, eyes still riveted on the tattoos on Jekk's chest.  
"This game has just got more dangerous," Kara whispered to the others. "There's something about this duelist that I don't like."

"Like what?" asked Tea arching a quizzical eyebrow.

"I don't know," Kara responded truthfully. "I will say for certainty though that this has something to do with the guy who kidnapped, Ryou, Yugi and myself recently though."

"You're right in a way," Jekk confirmed hearing what Kara had said. "But compared to him, we're a lot stronger."

"We?" Yami questioned. "Who's we?"

"If you defeat me you'll find out my pharaoh," Jekk told him. "Till then, just duel."

"Fine," Yami growled.

Ryou bit his lip and clenched the first that wasn't holding Kara's hand. Though he didn't say it, he had the same feeling that Kara was having about this duel. He almost felt as if someone was watching them from every direction at once. Kara glanced at him quietly, she didn't need magic powers to read her boyfriends mind. She then glanced at Kaiba, the young CEO was standing there with his arms crossed and an irritated looking glare on his face. Probably wandering what the heck's going on Kara thought quietly. Probably thinks we're all loonies

"I activate the Magic Card Graceful Charity! This will allow me to draw three cards, then discard two!" shouted Yami.  
"Sorry to disappoint you," chuckled Jekk. "I discard Gravekeeper's Watcher to negate your Graceful Charity!" The white-and-black-robed Gravekeeper appeared, dragging the angel of Graceful Charity into the Graveyard.  
"What?" exclaimed Yami. "You can't just discard cards from your hand to stop others!"  
"Gravekeeper's Watcher has a special ability, allowing the player to negate the card effect of one that involves discarding cards into the Graveyard," explained Kaiba, somewhat to Yami's chagrin.  
"Quite right, Mr. Kaiba. Now make your move, my Pharaoh," said Jekk somewhat sinisterly.  
"Fine! I activate Bonds of Brotherhood!" called out Yami. "By paying 1000 Life Points, I can summon two monsters of the same level, type, and attribute as the one on my field. So I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior and Gamma the Magnet Warrior!" The yellow and pink magnet creatures floated down to the field, making strange buzzing sounds as they landed. (4/1700/1600) (4/1500/1800) (Y's LP: 1000)  
"Then, since they can't attack this turn, I'll combine my three magnet warriors to form Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" The three metallic monsters disassembled into a variety of parts, before reassembling into one, their heads fusing together to form Valkyrion's helmet. (8/3500/3850) "Next, I play Change of Heart on your Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" The Gravekeeper floated over, landing gracefully at Yami's feet.

Jekk gritted his teeth as Yami called out his next move.

"Valkyrion! Spear Soldier! Attack Jekk directly!"  
"Activate Magic Card! Book of Moon! This will turn your Valkyrion into face-down Defense Mode!" A blue tome covered in Egyptian hieroglyphics appeared, then started to open, showering Valkyrion with a bright blue glow. She disappeared, to be replaced with a horizontally-placed card back. Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier then continued its attack, striking Jekk in the chest, and dropping his Life Points dramatically. (J's LP: 2000) Yami then discarded another card to the Graveyard from his deck, losing his Big Shield Gardna in the process.   
"Are you done?" asked Jekk, lip curling. Yami gave a curt nod after a quick survey of the field.

Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier walked back to his master's side of the field as he drew.

"It's time to lose, my Pharaoh. I activate Card of Sanctity! This allows us to draw until we have six cards each in our hands!" He swiftly drew six cards, while Yami carefully and deliberately drew his four.   
"Next, I place this monster in face-down defense mode, and activate the Magic Card Book of Taiyou on it! This book of the sun reveals my monster! Gravekeeper's Spy!" shouted Jekk. The gold bound volume appeared, opening its pages and showering Jekk's face-down card with light, causing it to flip up, and activate its effect. (4/1200/2000)  
"Gravekeeper's Spy allows me to summon a Gravekeeper from my deck with an attack of 1500 or lower," explained Jekk with a chuckle. "I summon Gravekeeper's Guard to the field, in defense mode!" A burly Gravekeeper, toting a thin spear and holding it in a repelling position materialized beside the Spy. (4/1000/1900) "I'll end my turn by placing two cards face-down."  
"I draw," declared Yami. "First I'll place one card face-down. Then I'll resummon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" Flipping the card face-up, the Magna Warrior reappeared on the field. "And I'll have it attack Gravekeeper's Spy!" Valkyrion rushed at the defenseless Gravekeeper.  
"I'll discard Charm of Shabti, to protect my Spy!" The mystical amulet appeared before the Gravekeeper, protecting it from any harm as Valkyrion's sword whooshed by harmlessly. "However, I still take damage from the attack. But I'll activate my trap: Energy Drain! This card will increase my monster's attack by the number of cards in your hand times 200 points. You've got six cards in your hand. Because Gravekeeper's Spy has her attack raised by 500 points due to Necrovalley, and 1200 from Energy Drain, I only lose 600 Life Points." (J's LP: 1400)  
"End turn," growled Yami.   
"Excellent." Jekk drew his card, and his face underwent a transformation. His face was wreathed in smiles, and he seemed to barely be able to contain his excitement. "Now you shall witness true power!" he exulted.  
"Oh no," whispered Yami.   
"He must have drawn an Egyptian God Card!" murmured Kaiba intensely.

Jekk laughed exuberantly.

"Goodbye, Pharaoh! First, I activate Rite of Spirit! This trap allows me to resurrect a Gravekeeper, and I choose Gravekeeper's Watcher." The Gravekeeper returned to the field amid ritualistic flames. (4/1000/1000) "Next, I'll play Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards." He did so, barely able to stop from laughing as he did so.  
"And now, I sacrifice Gravekeeper's Spy! Gravekeeper's Watcher! And Gravekeeper's Guard! To summon the unstoppable OBELISK THE TORMENTOR!" The three monsters turned into bright bolts of light, shooting into the card in his hand. Slapping it on the Duel Disk, a crash of lightning landed on the field and the card began to emit rays of electricity. The menacing God arose from behind a wildly laughing Jekk, causing a windstorm to erupt and dark clouds to roll across the sky, amidst holy music. The glint of the red eyes and the roar of fury by the Divine Soldier caused everyone present to shudder. (10/4000/4000)

People in the streets who were passing by all stopped suddenly and pointed to the easily seen KaibaCorp Headquarters and the massive apparition atop it. Up there, on the roof, someone had played a monster of gigantic proportions, causing inexplicable changes to start happening in its immediate vicinity. A strong rain began to fall all over Domino, except at the place where the Duel was taking place, where the very atmosphere was vibrating with holy energy, and an odd glow made everyone feel light and airy.  
"He must be able to control Obelisk through some connection to the past," breathed Yugi, as Yami looked on in horror.  
"My next Magic Card! Swords of Shrouding Darkness! These sealing swords of the darkness blanket your field in shadows!" proclaimed Jekk. Black swords shot down, plunging Yami's side of the field in obscuring shade. As a result of this card, Valkyrion once again reverted to face-down defense mode.  
"Now nothing can stop me! Obelisk! Attack his face-down card now!" Obelisk pulled back his glowing fist, then launched it at terrific speeds at the face-down card. With a single punch, Valkyrion had been completely obliterated.

Tea gasped.

"Look at Yami!" Yami was clutching his chest with pain, wracked with agony. The attack had come far more powerfully than he had thought, and he had been blasted backwards. He now lay on his back, terribly winded.  
"Not only did my swords hide your monster, now any monster you attempt to play will go to face-down defense mode. Even if you found some way of defeating Obelisk, you can't attack!" laughed Jekk. Duke snorted.

"So? It's not like he can do damage either as long as those Swords of Shrouding Darkness stay on the field."  
"I wouldn't be so sure," snorted Kaiba. "Obelisk's special ability will be able to annihilate Yugi." Tristan gulped.

"Oh man, he's doomed!"

Yugi tightened his fist in resolve.

"Have faith, guys. I know Yami can do it." Yami, getting up painfully, drew his card.

"Hah! I drew Brave Attack. By resurrecting Valkyrion and defusing him, I can combine the strength of his components to topple Obelisk!"   
"Really?" asked Jekk coolly. "Try it, my Pharaoh."   
"With pleasure. I'll place two cards face-down and I activate Monster Reborn!" called out Yami. The card appeared on the field and started to glow. Suddenly, it glowed a violent orange and exploded. Yami could only look on in confusion.  
"You forgot about my field card, Pharaoh." Jekk pointed to the cliffs surrounding them. "Necrovalley is where the dead Pharaohs are buried. Nothing can affect the Graveyard here, due to the sanctity of this valley."  
"Then how did Rite of Spirit resurrect your Gravekeeper?" challenged Joey.  
"That trap card is immune to the effects of Necrovalley, mutt," snapped Kaiba condescendingly, earning him an angry glare from the less experienced duelist.

Yami's eyes registered shock and surprise. Wordlessly, he ended his turn.  
"My move," said Jekk mockingly as he drew. "I suppose it's over. I sacrifice my Spear Soldier to summon Gravekeeper's Chief!" The white-robed leader of the Gravekeepers appeared, sporting a red aura and a golden staff. (5/1900/1200) "Now I resurrect Gravekeeper's Spy!" The swift Gravekeeper rose one last time. (4/1200/2000)  
"Hold on," snapped Yami. "You just said the Necrovalley prevents effects from touching the Graveyard."  
"For one thing, my Pharaoh, my Chief allows my cards to affect the Graveyard. And second, it's ability allows it to resurrect a Gravekeeper when it is Tribute Summoned."

The look of horror on Yami's face sufficed to tell Jekk his mission was completed.

"To prevent even the possibility of resistance, I will activate my last card: Royal Tribute! This will force both players to discard all monsters on hand to the Graveyard!" Yami winced. He was being forced to throw away Queen's Knight, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, Watapon, and most importantly, his Dark Magician. He slowly and sorrowfully put his most faithful servant in the Graveyard slot.   
"Now that all you've got left are those pathetic Brave Attack and De-Fusion cards, it's time to face defeat! I sacrifice Gravekeeper's Chief and Spy to Obelisk!" he roared over the howling of the wind. Obelisk reached down and snatched the two monsters in its gigantic fists. Drained of their energy, they disappeared. Obelisk's arms were pumped up from the energy it had received, and it was time to deliver the final blow. "Go! Obelisk! God Hand Crusher!"

A ghost of a smile flitted across Yami's face.

"Activate Magic Card! Mirage Magic!"  
"No!" groaned Jekk. "Mirage Magic negates the attack and effect of a monster and allows you to gain Life Points equal to its attack!"  
"That's right," growled Yami as a crystal plate appeared in midair, taking the full brunt of Obelisk's strike. It then turned and deflected the attack (now changed to a rainbow beam) at Yami, increasing his Life Points. (Y's LP: 5000)

Jekk hissed in anger.

"No matter. I'll destroy you next turn!"  
"No. You're wrong. There will be no next turn." Yami issued this statement without a trace of emotion.  
"Oh? And your authority for that statement is...?" Jekk let the question dangle.  
"This," declared Yami, placing his hand on his deck.

Jekk let out a hoot of laughter.

"You're predicting the outcome of this duel on one card? May I remind you that you have no monsters left to fight my God, and I'm about to deal the final blow? And you're declaring victory on a random card."   
"Not just any card. And I never said I would use a monster to confront Obelisk." Yami drew his card, thinking, 'Heart of the Cards, guide me.' And without even looking at it, inserted it into a M/T slot on his Duel Disk.

"I activate Living Arrow!"  
"No!" moaned Jekk in despair. The gold and silver arrow materialized amidst rays of golden light.  
"This card will destroy each and every face-up Magic Card on your side of the field," explained Yami with grim satisfaction. "And for every one destroyed, you will take 500 points of damage!" The arrow began to glow bright pink, then loosed itself at Jekk, trailing fiery pink sparks. It buried itself in Yami's opponent.

Jekk looked down slowly, and fixed his eyes on the arrow protruding from his heart as Yami proceeded to explain.

"You have Necrovalley, Gravekeeper's Servant, and Swords of Shrouding Darkness, making three cards. Which results in a total damage amount of 1500 points."

Jekk could only stare as his body was lashed with pink lightning, and his Life Point meter sounded loudly and crisply in the night air. (J's LP: 0) Obelisk let out another tremendous roar, and with a clap of thunder, dissipated into wisps of energy, and returned to the card.

Yami, deactivating his Duel Disk, roared at Jekk:

"Tell me the information you promised, and release Yugi's grandpa."   
"The old man is already sleeping in his bed," hissed Jekk. "And as for the information you want, you'll have to defeat us all for it." He raised his arm.  
"Wait!" yelled Yugi, but Jekk dropped the smoke bomb, and disappeared without a trace. Yami walked over and picked up the only thing his opponent had left behind. The first of the three God cards. Obelisk the Tormentor.

Kara was amazed at how easily Yami had managed to destroy his opponant, she was only half that good at duelling. She glanced towards Yugi whose face was set in a confused look.

"Yugi, go and check on your grandpa," she advised softly. Yugi nodded numbly and ran to the door on the roof and disappeared in the elevator, with Joey close behind. He'd be ok with Joey.

"Are you ok Yami?" Tea asked.

"Yes," he responded rubbing his chest. "Just a little tired that's all."

"What do you expect?" Duke enquired. "You took a heck of a beating out there before you beat him."

"Way to state the obvious Duke," Tristan muttered. Skith watched from under an awning. Seeing Obelisk disappear and not hearing any voices (even with his sensitive ears), he decided that his Lord must have emerged victorious. He slunk off into the shadows.

Kara smiled softly, she'd had doubts about Yami's ability to win against a god card, but she'd been proven wrong and was proud of it.

"How about we head back to the game shop and check up on Yugi and Joey?" she offered. "I mean they're most likely there by now."

"On his shrimpy legs?" Kaiba asked. "The mutt probably had to carry him."

"Kaiba as much as i'd like to make you swallow your words along with my fist," Tristan told him as the group headed for the lift. "I can't be bothered. It's late, we're all tired and i'll find another opportunity some other time."

Kaiba simply watched as they left the roof, not really wanting to follow till they'd gone. He had no idea what was going on, who had that guy been who Yami had faced. Who the heck was the one known as Yami for that matter? He hadn't seen him before and who was the new girl? She didn't seem to be as annoying as Tea that was for sure.

Kara meanwhile stood in the lift beside Ryou, deep in thought. She subconsciously stepped out of the elevator and followed the others out of the building and towards the game shop. What was wrong with this whole thing?

- - - - -

Please R&R


	12. Dance of the Fairy

Disclaimer: Same as other pages.  
Special thanks go to BMK and Jaesai for helping me once again. Thank you.  
-  
A day or so later after Yami had managed to defeat Jekk and retrieve one of the God cards, the whole gang had seen neither sight nor sound of any of the other men who'd had a hand in stealing them. Yugi's grandpa was thankfully ok, making Yugi happier than ever. Yami had spent the day after resting after the duel, whilst the others had been to school.

Kara was at her ballet class, but half the time her concentration was taken up by thoughts of whether or not Bakura was ok, whether or not Ryou would be able to cope without him till they found him and whether or not they'd find the remaining god cards and the thieves. "Kara, mind your leg," Emily quipped as the girl nearly kicked her in the back. "Sorry Em," she apologised stepping backwards. "I didn't know I was so close." "No problem, are you ok? You seem pre-occupied." "Yeah, you have done most of the class," her other friend confirmed. "Just concerned about friend matters." "Oh ok."

Kara spent the rest of class concentrating on her dancing, before finishing and heading off home. She found she was unusually very tired, but was able to stay awake for dinner. "Everything ok honey?" asked her mother as she excused herself from dinner. "Yes, just tired from class." Nodding her mom allowed her to head off to bed without further questions. She didn't know about what was going on and Kara was thankful for that. Retiring to bed, she curled up and simply stared at her school uniform that was draped over a chair by her bed before falling asleep.  
Everyone looked tired as they headed into school the next day, partly because it was time for midterm exams, but also about certain other recent events.

Joey half expected Derek, who had been rather withdrawn the last few days, to be obnoxiously chipper. He was rather mistaken, Derek looked as tired as any of them, though it only showed by making him seem gaunter than ever. "What's up with you, man?" he asked curiously, as he dragged a half-asleep Tristan down the hallway. "Huh?" asked Derek, head jerking up. Joey shook his head. It wasn't like Derek to just space out, even trudging along to his next exam. "Nothin'. What've you got next?" "Math," he growled, and seemed so irritated that Joey was quite glad to get to his English midterm.  
Kara was only half awake herself as she headed for her English midterm class, how she was going to get through it she didn't know. Ballet class was getting harder due to a show they were meant to do for Christmas, which happened to be the Nutcracker Suite and now exams? Oi, she was going to be exhausted. Walking into her classroom she flumped down in her seat and buried her head into her arms, luckily the teacher hadn't come in yet.  
"Kara, are you ok?" Tea asked from where she was sitting. Kara turned her head to look at her, and for some reason Tea seemed chirpier than she and the others did, including Yami.  
"No not really," she groaned. "We're fighting bad guys, doing exams before Christmas and to add to it all my teacher wants me to be the Sugar Plum fairy at this years recital. I don't know how to cope with the work overload"  
"We could always ditch fighting bad guys," Joey drawled out calmly.  
"Wouldn't that be nice," Duke agreed and the others nodded in agreement.  
Derek wearily threw his pencil at the garbage can. It hit the bottom with a clunk as he got up, a second before the bell rang for lunch. He could hear the disgruntled shuffling of students' feet through the hallways, heading toward the cafeteria. He threw the door open and charged down the corridor. These days it was too cold to eat outside, and the cafeteria was small, so you had to get there fast. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Derek positively flew through the halls, but upon reaching the staircase, groaned loudly. It was jam-packed with students.

Judging it carefully, he stepped back, then leaped over the crowd of students with a somersault. Landing neatly on a single foot on the banister, his momentum carried him on, sliding down until he reached the cafeteria. Kicking the door open, he was relieved to see the gang's table empty. He swiftly made it there, tore open his backpack, and spread his books and papers all over the place to reserve the table. He sat down, pretending to study for his next exam. Several students glared, seeing him occupying the whole table. He scowled back ferociously, and they quickly left.

As the gang walked in, he waved, clearing some space on the table. They all gratefully slid into the chairs.  
"Thanks, Derek," chimed Yugi. Yami sat down without a word, looking rather deep in thought.  
"Yeah, Ms. Kayani kept us back 'cause a couple of students needed 'a few more minutes,'" grumbled Joey, pulling out his lunch.  
"C'mon, man," muttered Tristan, shoving him to the side to make some space for Kara, Ryou and himself. "I needed to finish the last question"  
"Yeah, we all know you're slow," chuckled Duke, to a glaring Tristan. Everyone laughed good-naturedly.  
"So, how're you holding up, Derek?" asked Tristan as he started in on a sandwich. Derek shrugged. "The stuff on my English exam was elementary. I was bored out of my mind during most of the exam. I think I might've fallen asleep at one point," he added thoughtfully. Joey, Tristan and Duke snickered.

A half-hour later, when their lunches resided in their stomachs, and the subject of exams was thoroughly canvassed, everyone was rather bored. Derek, smiling, pulled out his deck of cards.  
"Who wants a game of high-draw? How 'bout you, Joey?" Joey laughed, and drew. His face fell a mile. "What? A Magic Card? Aww, man," he groaned as Derek flipped his Ruby Dragon.  
"Again," snapped Joey, pulling out a card. "Yeah! That's more like it! Dark Blade, uh-huh! 1800 points, beat that"  
"Okay." Derek pulled his card. "Archlord Zerato, 2800 points. Sorry"  
"ARGH!" screamed Joey. "One more time!" he growled. Kara watched, fascinated as they went through ten more cards, Derek beating Joey every time.  
"Guess it's not your day," commented Derek, grinning, revealing his Armed Dragon LV7 to the Luster Dragon Joey drew. He scooped up his cards and shuffled them, and slipped a card in. He then offered it to Yugi.  
"C'mon, have a go. I'd like to see how the King of Games does it," he coaxed. Yugi shook his head shyly. Yami appeared not to have noticed.  
"Oh come on," laughed Derek. He drew his card. "Heh. There we go. Zera the Mant. 2800 points. A challenge. Try me, Yugi." Saying this, his eye glinted.  
"Oh, well if you insist," said Yugi modestly. The others exchanged winks and nudges. Yugi pulled his card slowly, glanced at it, then said brightly, "I win." About to replace the card, he suddenly did a double-take. He stared intently at the card, then at Derek, and then collapsed in a dead faint, the card falling from his hand onto the table:

Slifer the Sky Dragon.

Derek felt the burning stares of the others on him. "Ooops."

A grey mist swirled before Yugi's eyes. Next thing he knew, Yami was bending over him, his face a mask of concern. "Are you all right"  
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," muttered Yugi, pulling himself up. Derek rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that.  
Didn't want to spring it on ya. I guess I didn't expect you to react like that." Joey glared at him. "Whaddaya mean, scaring the daylights out of Yugi with a fake one-of-a-kind card?" Yami had picked up Slifer, and was staring intently at it. "This isn't a fake, Joey," he breathed. Tea could only stare at Derek. "Where did you—? How did you—"  
"It's kind of a long story," admitted Derek, as they gaped at him.

Just then, the bell rang, signifying fifth period. Derek snatched up his bag, cramming his deck, minus Slifer, into his bag. "I'll tell ya later. After school. No, you hold onto it for now," he said, refusing the God that Yami held out to him. In a second, he had disappeared into the throng of students now fighting to get back to their classes in time for their exams.

Kara and Ryou both had Geography that afternoon, as did Joey and Duke. Their teacher looked at them as they raced into class and hurriedly took their seats, giving Ryou a very long look. The white haired teen said nothing and hurriedly dragged out his pencils, ruler and other stationary he needed. He glanced at his three friends, thankful that none of the faculty knew about his spat with Bakura, all they thought was that he'd been getting into fights and stuff.  
"Good luck," his three friends muttered to him, knowing this test was going to be a killer. He muttered a good luck to them and went to work as their teacher finished handing out the papers, and announced their start. Yugi and Tea had Geometry, while Tristan had Maths. All of them a pain to do, but eventually getting through the classes and the end of school all the students left. "Don't you four look full of the joys of spring," Tea joked as Ryou, Kara, Joey and Duke caught up with them at the school gates.  
"That Geography test was hard," Kara groaned. "What was she trying to do to us in there"  
"You mean the examiners," Duke corrected.  
"Whatever. I need a break. Glad my ballet class isn't till tomorrow"  
"Oh yeah, you're the sugar plum fairy right?" Yugi grinned. Kara nodded.  
"Yup, all because i've been working so hard lately. No choice, poor performance during the last month or so because of everything going on"  
"We'll come and support ya," Tristan laughed as they walked towards Yugi's house. "Oh yeah and watch me mess up?" Kara asked. "Thanks"  
"You'll do fine Kara," Ryou said with a slight chuckle, "Unless you keep that attitude that is. You're a great dancer and don't you forget it." The others nodded and agreed with him. Ryou then sighed, "I wonder where Derek went. He still needs to tell us how he got Slifer back from those guys," he then paused for a moment, "you don't think he might be working for him do you"  
"Whoa!" Tristan said, "Someone's getting paranoid"  
"Tristan's right Ryou," Tea said, "Derek might be a little intense but he's our friend. He'd never do anything like what those guys did." Ryou nodded and smiled slightly, "Not sure why I even thought that. He probably just met up with one of them and beat them."

Kara blushed in response to Ryou's comment and the others nods, and smiled.  
"Thanks guys." She sighed, she to was wandering about how Derek had retrieved Slifer, it was an interesting question. Of course that just left the strongest card of all, the Winged Dragon of Ra. That was going to be a pain to win back, of that she was certain.  
"Can I ask you something Kara?" asked Yami who was standing at Yugi's other side.  
"Sure," she responded casually.  
"What is a sugar plum fairy?" Kara laughed lightly, of course Yami wouldn't know what it was.  
"It's a character in a ballet," she told him. "The dance style I study. She's like one of the main characters in the story"  
"What is the story?" Yami asked.  
"It's called the Nutcracker Suite," Tea offered. "It's about this girl called Clara I think and she makes friends with a wooden nutcracker doll, who turns out to be handsome prince trying to fight an evil rat king who'd taken over his kingdom. The Sugar Plum fairy is like the guardian or something"  
"Oh"  
"There is a book on it," Kara told him. "I have a copy, would you like to borrow it"  
"Yami has only just started reading our text," Yugi told her. "But i'll read it to you"  
"Thank you Yugi"  
"You're welcome."

Watching them walk back was the last minion, Graide. He lifted the third Egyptian god card and looked at it, he had to duel one of them, but who? Joey maybe? He'd held out against a god card before, maybe him or Ryou or one of the others who wouldn't be able to duel against him. Or what about the girl? He'd always wanted to smash a girl in a duel and Tea didn't seem like worth while prey.  
"Looks like little miss. emerald eyes is going to be my target," he smirked placing the card in his deck.  
Kara's in danger, a voice whispered to Ryou all of a sudden. The albino stopped in his tracks and immediately began to look around, with a worried expression. The voice had been the same one he'd heard before, but where was it coming from? He sighed and bit his lip, glancing over at Kara for a moment, was she really in danger? He smiled at her as she gave him a confused look, and walking up slipped his hand into hers. He took a deep breath, hoping the voice had been wrong.  
-  
Kara smiled at him, before turning to Yugi.  
"Could I see Slifer for a second?" she asked as she pointed to her Millennium Item. "This could shed some light on the situation"  
"Good idea," said Yugi encouragingly, and handed her the God card. She stared at it intently and the Millennium Crescent started to glow. Derek jogged up, wearing his Duel Disk on an arm, trying to close up his backpack. "Hey, guys, wait up!" he called, but tripped and landed in a garbage can. The man called Graide stepped out of the shadows and taking the opportunity of the distraction, swiftly punched Joey and Tristan in their guts, then grabbing the winded boys by their arms, threw them into Duke. The three lay on the ground, moaning in pain.

Yugi and Tea missed this, for they'd turned around to see who had called. Seeing no one in sight, they turned fearfully back to see Graide shoving Ryou into Yugi, cannoning the two backwards. He then threw off his cloak and activated his oddly shaped Duel Disk. Both of the girls thought it looked familiar, then Kara realized it was the exact same kind that Jekk had used against Yami. A golden circle encompassed the three, the wall it formed glowing strangely. The man opposite them then spoke.  
"I challenge you to a duel," he said in his rough, gravelly voice, pointing straight at Kara. Or more accurately, at her Millennium Crescent, which was glowing just like the ring around them.

Yami who'd avoided the collision that had taken place between Yugi and Ryou, by stepping out of the way, growled and started forward, but hit the barrier and it threw him back quite a long way.  
"Yami!" cried Tea. She tried to run to him, but collided painfully with the barrier. Graide chuckled nastily at Tea. Staring at the glowing surface, she then realized that it was Kara's Millennium Item that was creating the shield.  
"Kara! Turn it off!" cried Tea desperately. Kara tried, but to no avail. "I... can't"  
"Of course not," scoffed the burly man. "This is one of the Crescent's most powerful functions. It's for your own protection. And like any other Shadow Game, it will lift only when you win the duel"  
"Shadow Game?" exclaimed the both of them, but as they spoke, they could see the shadows engulfing the area. Kara made up her mind as she watched Ryou try to get up, but collapsing.  
"Fine! I accept your challenge," she snapped resolutely, pulling out her deck and shuffling it, and putting on her Duel Disk. She then slid her deck into the Disk and activating it, the blades coming together with a snap, then rotating over to the left, locking into place. She had unconsciously shuffled Slifer into her Deck, but neither her opponent nor herself had noticed.  
"My name is Graide," grunted her opponent, also sliding his deck in.  
"And your Item shall be mine once my God has finished with you!"

Kara nodded and drew five cards as he did, staring at them. She knew her crescent was trying to protect her, but she hadn't thought protecting her would include locking the enemy in with her. Tea was also at risk as she was also trapped within the circular shield and couldn't get out.  
"Ladies first," Graide smirked seeeing the look on Kara's face. Kara sighed and slid a card from her deck, adding it to her hand. She'd drawn Waboku, Light of Intervention, Solar Flare, Magician of Faith, The Forgiving Maiden and Maid of Tranquility. Maid of Tranquility and Solar Flare were two new cards she'd recently aquired and added to her deck, they worked well, but not together. At least she could summon Maid of Tranquility though, it was a level 4 monster after all.  
"I summon Maid of Tranquility in attack mode," she announced. (ATT: 1800/DEF: 1550) The maid appeared on the field in a floating sky blue and silver dress, that kind of looked like a nuns habit.

The monster didn't have any effects, but it's power was high enough, but Kara somehow sensed that she was up against someone who knew a lot about dueling, and who could duel in a level probably higher than her own.  
"I also place this face down," she announced slipping her waboku trap into a magic/trap slot. "I can't attack so i'll end my turn." She couldn't believe her own crescent was causing a barrier of this magnitude, she really had to learn to control it better.  
Ryou cursed, shocking Yugi a bit. His eyes were narrowed and his hands clenched into fists. He took a few deep breaths before getting back up onto his feet, slightly sore from the fall.  
"Why did it have to be right?" he whispered to himself as he walked up to the barrier and touched it slightly, getting a bit of a jolt out of it, "Be careful Kara."

Kara glanced at him for a sceond, smiling slightly as she waited for Graide to make his move. He was taking his time that was for sure, and she was getting nervous. Here she was trapped inside a barrier of gold and shadow along with Tea, and some creep who planned to destroy her with the only remaining stolen Egyptian God card. Yugi had told her everything about it, but whether or not she could beat ti was another matter.

Whilst waiting she turned to Tea, well turned her head anyway.  
"Tea i'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't know my crescent would do this"  
"Don't worry about it," Tea smiled. "At least you know it works." Kara laughed lightly and nodded as Yugi came to Ryou's side.  
"Who was right Ryou?" he asked.  
"I don't really know," Ryou admitted before turning to look at the smaller boy, "This is the second time i've heard it. It was a familiar voice, but none of you had said anything. I don't know, maybe i've just lost it"  
Kara's opponant drew a card from his deck and looked at his hand. Two trap holes, Harpy's Brother, Rising Air Current, Harpy Chic and now he had Cyber Shield. He pulled Rising Air Current from his hand and smirked.  
"First I activate the field magic card, Rising Air Current!" he announced as the field magic card area of his duel disk flipped open. He slid the card into it and instantly the dueling field turned into what looked like a large mountain range, with cloud filled blue skies above them. Kara looked around, she knew Rising Air Current was a power up field card for Wind and winged types, so she instantly knew what deck Graide had. Now she ahd to think of Wind and winged types, the most prominant had to be the harpy decks she knew some players ran.  
"Next I play Harpies Brother in attack mode!" Graide announce din his gruff voice. He placed the card on his duel disk and instantly the winged male monster appeared, it's dark wings flicking out at the edges and a long red ribbon twitching around it's body. It's attack power instantly went up to 2300, way more than Kara's Maid of Tranquility.

Graide smirked at Kara triumphantly and raised a finger, pointing directly at her maid.  
"Attack now, harpy wing slap!" The male monster soared forward and raised it's wings, ready to slash the monster.  
"Not so fast," Kara announced as it came within a few feet of touching her maid. "I activated the trap card waboku, it lowers you monsters attack to zero, leaving my maid unharmed. Graide said nothing as the three turquoise clad maidens appeared to protect Kara's weaker maid.  
"Fine, I play two cards face down and end my turn," he announced placing his two trap cards face down. "You're move." Kara nodded and drew a card. 'Pot of Greed' she thought.  
"I play the magic card Pot of Greed," she announced activating the card and sliding two cards from her deck. 'Maid of Charity and Wind Storm of Etiqua' she thought. 'These may help, later' "I place this in defense mode," she told him as she put her forgiving maiden in defense mode. "Then I add this to, face down. I will also switch my maid to defense mode and end my turn"  
Yugi watched the duel intently as Joey, Tristan and Duke helped each other over to see what was going on. "How's the duel going Yugi"  
"He's in the lead," Yugi responded nodding to Graide. "His monster is stronger than either of Kara's monsters"  
"Aww nuts," Joey muttered rubbing his stomach. "I bet he has the last god card to"  
"Mm hm," Yugi confirmed. "Although I think they may both be surprised, if Kara gets the draw she wants"  
"What draw?" asked Duke.  
"You'll see," Yugi responded. "Although I hope Kara will be careful." He then turned to Ryou and looked at him.  
"Ryou, you have faith in Kara right? Then don't look like you don't. I still wish you'd tell me more about what this problem is though"  
"There's not much to tell," Ryou said calmly, "The first time the voice said something like, he's coming. And just recently, I heard the voice again saying, Kara's in danger. Someone stick me in an insane asylum, I've completely lost my mind."

"You haven't lost it Ryou," Yugi told him reassuringly. "Maybe someone is telepathically trying to tlel you something, or there's magic active. We're certainly seeing a lot recently." He indicated the glowing circular barried around the three inside it as he said that.  
"Besides, voices in your head, those types anyway usually don't give warnings or say anything that makes sense anyway, or so scientists think"  
"Actually, they do say things that make sense. Usually nasty things too. Things like, no one likes you or you're a worthless weak little looser," Ryou then stopped and chuckled, "Gee, where have I heard those words before? Oh ya, from Bakura"  
"Bakura is a jerk," Joey told him. "Why am I saying 'is'? He WAS"  
"He's right," Yugi comforted. "Bakura said those things to lower your self-esteem. You didn't listen eventually Ryou that's what's important. Now look, you've got friends in all of us and we'll always back you up"  
"Yeah, and don't forget a cute girlfriend," Duke concurred as he nodded to Kara. "Despite Bakura's interferrance you have both. You're luckier than you think"  
Ryou nodded and smiled slightly, "I'll definetely agree with that. But he wasn't all that bad you know. Last time we saw him, he'd really changed. I just wish it hadn't ended so badly."

"If you think that'll save you, you're gravely mistaken," Graide muttered as he drew another card. He looked at it, another Harpy Chic. It was too weak to play and he had no more monsters.  
"I choose to attack you now with Harpy's brother, go attack with harpy wing slap"  
"Not so fast!" Kara called. "I activate the trap Wind Storm of Etaqua. This switches your harpy brother to defense mode, leaving my monsters unharmed." The harpy fell backwards by the pull of the card and closed it's wings around itself.  
"Very well, your turn," Graide announced. Kara drew a card from her deck and looked at it. 'Heavy Storm' she thought yes'  
"I play the magic card Heavy Storm, so whatever you had in mind for my monsters has just been destroyed!" Graide raised his arms as did Kara as the two face down cards on Graids side of the field and his Rising Air Current card, were wiped off the dueling field by a huge tornado of wind.  
"Next I play Dark Elf in attack mode! And switch my Maid of Tranquility into attack mode!" Kara announced. "It will cost me 1000 life points, but that's a small price to pay for getting rid of your harpys brother. Go now Dark Elf! Attack with Shadow Blast!" The elf raised both her hands, and a spiral of dark energy flew towards the defenceless harpy and destroyed it out right. Kara's life points spiralled down to 3000 from 4000, but as she said to destroy Graide's harpy it was a small price, which she knew she could get back later.

"Next I attack with my maid. Go Hand of Peace"  
The maiden raised her one hand and a glowing orb of white light formed in her palm, before she lowered her arm and the attack flew forward and his Graide in the chest. Graide cried out in pain, it didn't help that the duel was also a shadow game. His life points spiralled down to 2200.  
"I place one card face down," Kara announced as she put Light of Intervention face down. "I end my turn." 'So far so good' she thought. 'I have him down to less life points than myself, but I don't think this guy is going to let me win that easily'  
"You can do it Kara," Tea commented. Kara smiled at her over her shoulder.

"Kara has a narrow lead," Duke muttered to the boys. "Think she can win"  
"As I said if she gets into trouble," Yugi whispered. "She has a trump card, she'll just need to draw it"  
"Heart of the cards right pal?" Joey smiled.  
"Yup"  
"Not to meantion, she has all of us cheering her on," Ryou said with a slight smile. His hand went to the millennium ring for a moment and he closed his eyes, 'Watch over her for me, my friend.'

Kara felt her sennen item glisten slightly, something was up but she couldn't quite tell what. Graide glared at her. 'I need a good card right now, or that brat will defeat me next turn' he thought angrily.

Graide growled out under his breath and drew a card from his deck, he looked at it and smiled.  
"Let's see how you handle this," he told her. "I play Cyber Harpy in attack mode!" The harpy appeared on the field, dressed in purple armour. Her lond reddish pink hair fell over her shoulders and down her back, while she looked at Kara with her emerald green eyes. Kara wasn't worried though as it wasn't strong enough to defeat her monsters, of course Graide wasn't finished yet.  
"I add Cyber Shield!" he called slipping the card into his duel disk. Gold armour took the place of the harpies purple armour, raising the monsters attack by 500, making the harpies strength 2300. Kara's eyes wavered as she watched its attack climb, now even her own monsters weren't strong enough to defeat Graides attack power.  
"Go Cyber Harpy and attack her Elf with Harpy Claw Slash!" The harpy flew forward and bringing her claws up, slashed right through Kara's dark elf. The elf screamed and disappeared in a twinkling of sparkles, as the harpy moved back to Graides side of the field.  
"That's for Harpy brother," he told her.  
"I'm beginning to think this guy is related to Mai," Joey muttered to the other boys.  
"I end my turn," Graide told Kara.

Kara stared ahead of her, her life points were now down to 2700. At least she still had a lead on him, but if he attacked again her only defense would disappear and her life points would be even less. She reached for her deck and drew a card, she looked much happier all of a sudden.  
"I play the magic card, card of sanctity," she told Graide as she activated the card. "It allows us both to draw till we have six cards in our hands." Kara currently only had 2 cards in her hand, so she could draw four more. Graide had the same amount and also drew four. Kara watched him as he spread his cards out, his eyes were glittering for some reason, which she couldn't quite fathom for a moment. However it soon hit her, he had an Egyptian god card in his deck. The Winged Dragon of Ra, if he'd drawn it he probably planned to use it, but he had to sacrifice three monsters first. 'I have to keep him from doing that' she thought.

She spread out her own hand and looked at it, she had Wingweaver, Monster Reborn, Fairy's Gift and... was she dreaming? There was a red coloured card in her hand, Slifer the Sky Dragon. This was Yugi's card, not hers so how had it got into her deck? It was then it hit her. 'Of course' she thought. 'I was holding it when I was challenged to the duel. I must've accidentally shuffled it into my deck'. She looked at it for a moment, her eyes glistening. Yugi watched her quietly, the look on her face when she saw her last card meant she'd drawn something amazing and he had a VERY good idea of what it was.

Kara however was looking at her monsters, which one could she sacrifice along with her resurrected monster? She could sacrifice her Maid of Tranquility, but if she did and attacked with Wingweaver and her Forgiving Maiden, she wouldn't defeat him as it's attack power was way too low. If she chose right she'd defeat this guy without the need to summon Slifer, as she doubted she'd be able to control the card. Graide didn't have enough monsters to summon Ra, thankfully, so she knew she could win this without having to bring the gods into it.  
"Are you going to continue?" asked Graide. "I'd like to get this over with while i'm still young"  
"Young?" Tea asked cynically. "By your style of wardrobe I wouldn't say you're young." Kara chuckled and shook her head.  
"Don't get too excited," she told Graide calmly. "I plan to win this duel before you can play the god card you just drew."

Graide looked at her in shock, how had she known he'd drawn the god card Ra?  
"First to avenge my elf," Kara announced. "I play Monster Reborn to resurrect my dark elf." The elf reappeared on the field, it's long dark gown floating around it.  
"However," Kara continued. "She's too weak to attack your harpy, so I sacrifice her and my Forgiving Maiden to summon Wingweaver in attack mode. The large six-winged angel appeared on the field, her wings spread wide. Graide had expected her to sacrifice her two attack monsters, not her defense. He'd thought Kara was not the type to lose a good defense, but he was wrong.

Kara smiled at the look on his face, he knew what was coming his way. She'd been calculating the duel while she'd been staring at her monsters, her two monsters had the combined power to wipe this guy out.  
"Wingweaver, in the name of my Dark Elf, attack his cyber harpy now!" she ordered. The fairy raised her hands high above her head, and a large ball of light began to appear between her palms. As soon as it was as big as it was going to get she threw it, and it barrelled into the harpy, which let out a loud bird like shriek as it exploded into a thousand pieces. Graide stared at the god card and the elegant egotist card in his hand, he'd been so close. If she'd only sacrificed her maid of tranquility and not her forgiving maiden, he'd have been able to use HIS monster reborn card to do a resurrection and then summon Ra. "Graide," Kara began as her maid got ready to attack. "Not every duel has to be won by power. Knowing your own monsters is sometimes enough. Now Maid of Tranquility. Attack his life points directly! Wipe them out!" The maid raised her hand and a blast of magic sped towards Graide, smashing hard into his chest. He gasped and fell to the ground, grasping his chest in pain.  
"Yay you did it!" Tea cried jumping up and down.

"Yeah! Way to go Kara!" Joey cried as the shadows dispersed and the glowing gold barrier disappeared. Kara's necklace ceased to glow and out of exhaustian, she collapsed to the ground. Her shadow powers and the duel combined had taken a lot out of her, as she wasn't used to trying to handle both at once.  
"Kara!" Tea cried running to help her. "Are you ok"  
"Yes," Kara smiled weakly. "Just tired"  
"How?" Graide whispered. "How could I lose? I'm surperior to you"  
"You lost because you expected to defeat me with Ra when I took the lead," Kara responded. "Rather than trusting your other monsters." Graide growled something out as he lifted the god card from his hand and looked at it.  
"It was a fair duel," he commented and threw the card through the air. The yellow card landed gently on the ground at Kara's feet, and she reached out to pick it up. Graide said nothing more and as the boys, now able to reach the girls ran to help them, he disappeared.

"Kara you defeated him before he played Ra, nice one," Tristan smiled.  
"No big," Kara responded as she handed the card to Yugi. "Here"  
"Thank you," Yugi told her.  
"What was with that look on your face when you looked at the cards you drew?" asked Duke who'd also noticed the look of surprise Kara had expressed. "It was like you'd drawn the trump card of all trump cards." Kara smiled and raised the hand of cards she was still holding, to reveal the last card she'd drawn, Slifer the Sky Dragon.  
Ryou, Yugi and Yami smiled at Kara as the others looked at her and the egyptian god card with looks of utter shock. Kara giggled slightly as she handed the red egyptian god card to Yugi.  
"That certainly was a good duel, but it isn't over yet," Ryou said suddenly, "There will be more of those 'freaks' and more battles. It's far from over." Ryou sighed to himself and let his mind reach out to the one who'd first spoken those words only moments ago. The voice still familiar to him.

"I personally don't want to see another one of them again," Kara groaned as Tea helped her to stand up. "I need sleep more than anything." Ryou sighed slightly and nodded, "Lets get you home where you can rest." With that said, he moved over beside her and put an arm around her waist. She was weak and looked like she was about to collapse.  
"Thanks," Kara smiled as she gently leant her weight against both Tea and Ryou. "I owe you one"  
The two walked her along with the others close behind them. Yugi was looking at his three god crads now, thankful they were back in his hands.

Upon reaching Kara's house, Ryou and Tea helped her up tot he door.  
"Will you be ok?" Tea asked as Kara knocked on the door.  
"Yeah, when i've slept," she smiled. Her mom eventually answered the doro and Tea quickly released Kara, so it looked like she and Ryou were just walking together. Kara straightened herself up and smiled at her mom.  
"You're home early," her mom stated.  
"Yeah well, I'm a little tired from ballet and school so I thought I should rest," Kara smiled, hoping her mom would buy it, which she did. Turning she gently gave Ryou a soft kiss on the lips and entered the house.

The white haired teen blushed as the door closed, and Joey, Duke and Trsitan started teasing him.  
"You're just jealous cause I have someone and you don't," Ryou teased back and the three humphed and crossed their arms over their chests causing Yugi and Tea to laugh.  
"Seriously guys you really shouldn't tease him," Yugi chuckled and Yami and Tea nodded in agreement. "Aw we don't mean any harm," Joey smiled. "We think it's great"  
"Well let's head off to my place like we originally planned," Yugi offered. "We can hang for a while and we'll know how Kara is tomorrow"  
"Sounds like a plan," Tea agreed as they headed off.  
In her room, tired and weakened by the shadow magic, Kara lay curled up on her bed watching the TV in her room. Resting was all she had in mind right now, she'd sleep later. The shadows in her room cast by the light and the TV, twitched and if it weren't for the fact she knew it was just the way the two things were operating, she'd have thought it was shadow magic.  
Eyes watched her for a moment before seemingly disappearing again. 'All is well for now' something thought. Derek gingerly pulled himself out of the trash can. That had definitely been an interesting duel. He hadn't expected Kara to perform so well. Wincing at his smell, and his numerous cuts and bruises, he limped home.

-

Keep R+R 


End file.
